Full text of "Chinese immigration. The social, moral, and political effect of Chinese immigration. Testimony taken before a committee of the Senate of the state of California, appointed April 3d, 1876"

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3 3433 08179749 4

X.EB

CHINESE IMMIGRATION.

The Social, Moral, and Political Effect
ytf) OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION.

TESTIMONY ■

TAKEN BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

Appointed April 3d, 1876.

REPORTED BY FRANK SHAY, OFFICIAL REPORTER OF SAID COMMITTEE, AND

PUBLISHED UNDER AN ORDER OF THE SENATE BY F. P. THOMPSON,

STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC PRINTING.

SACRAMENTO:
STATE PRINTING OFFICE
L&76. '

lot

.,'0^

INDEX.

Abandonment of female children 16

of sick and helpless. .34, 47, 55, 80, 88, 108, 111, 117, 120, 126, 127, 131, 134, 143

Agriculture in China 7, 15

Ait ken, Andrew, testimony of 156

Altemeyer, Abram, testimony of 49

-America, Chinese regard for 22

and China trade 9, 14

American institutions, Chinese regard for . 23, 42

Americans in China 9, 30, 36, 40

Architecture, Chinese 19, 40

Army, Chinese 16

Assassination, offers of reward for 61, 100, 102, 110, 121, 12S, 139, 142, 146

acts of 61, 101, 120, 122, 129, 144, 145, 146

Assessment of Chinese property 82, 172

Assimilation of races 22

Badlam, Alex., testimony of 81

Ben Wong, test i mony of 99

Bonds required of Chinese servants _- 19

Bones of deceased, return to China 11, 23, 65

Bonte, Rev. J. II. C, testimony of 163

Boys, white, and Chinese prostitutes 35. 59, 62. 81, 88, 101, 103, 107,

ion, 112, 113, 116, US. 125, 126, 131

Bovee, James H., testimony of 108

Bribery of public officers, attempts at 75, 123

Brigandage in China 15, 17

Brooks, Charles Wolcott, testimony of • 35

Burlingame treaty, benefits of 9

effect of modification of 6, 24, 35. 86

making of . 23, 35

• California, how regarded by Chinese 22

Caste among Chinese 7, 21

Canton, source <<( Chinese immigration 5, 18, 25, 39, 45, 65, 76, 85, 101, 138

population of 97

Chastity in China 8, 21, 29

China, area and population 167

Chinese cities, condition of 18, 77, 86, 105

population of 1C7

Chinese quarters in San Francisco, condition of— 29,45,47,59, 60, 69, 70, 80, 88, 90, 108, 111. 13S

extent of 1_..46, 59

population of 27, 41, 44, 46, 62, 88, 149

character of population. _48. 53, 60. lii), 82, 83, 90, 93, 108, 111

fires in 52

property owned by Chinese 82

in Sacramento, condition of 1 115. 125, 126, 127, 137, I t2

population of 115

in mining towns 126

Chinese government, character of 17, 20. .°.'.t

Chow, Chin Foug, testimony of ms

Christians, Chinese 28, 54, 66. 71. 74, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 87, 88, 94, 95, 97, 98, 101. 104, 109,

112, lis, 124. 127. 129, 130, 133, 136, 139, 141, 142, 144,150, 157, 162, 164

i V INI) E \ .

Chun-. Ah, testimony of '^

Chun-. Hone, testimony of

Clark, Alfred, testimony of . - '','

recalled- °?' 9 J

Cleanliness, want of, i g Chinese 18, 46, 53, 59, 66, 69, 72, 77. 78,80, 86, 88,

91, U-'. lo.,. L08, I L5, L25, L26, L27, L37, L42

Coffey, James, testimony of '-'}

Cohen, Samuel II., testimony of • "

Commerce, California and China

Coi ittee, hovt and why created

Companies, Chinese, kinds of - -- ']

character, power, and authority oi '-• l '» ^

enforcemenl of decrees - '•'

contracts with Pacific Mail Steamship Company L3, 26, 57, 66, 72

Six, the, relation to Chinese 31, 44. 121, 139

supported, how

number of men in each

controlling women 33,99, Km. 110

Competition, whites and Chin "sTfYi 28 55 56 86

Concubinage —8, 17, 21, 28. 55, 5b, so

Confucius, works of, character, etc. '• • A j.

Congress, power of ----- lfi

Convents in China, Catholic, . '
Ciiok. Liin-. testimony of

Coolie, a, whal 27, 30, 36, 56, 73, 85, 98, 10M49

Se 10.27,3ii,3tl'^

Contracts, labo"r --*> ™>*S?\%

to repay passage money _ ,_.. "• •' , '- •"■ L **

enforcemenl of t

marri -•• {q~R* 7ft

for prostitution Vo Vo* -ila

Courts, used to recover escaped women 33, 47, 55, 59, 69, 93, 108, 112, L15, L22, 137, 143

Crime, compromising of. 33, 48 ,11 6 , 12<J

suppression of - 61,63,70,116,124

Criminal population^'- 18,53, 60, 69, so. 82, 83, 90, 93, 108, 111,117, 124, 132

Dan, Ah, testimony of—. •- :;",V";r; R it

Departure of Chinese, regulation oi - L6 > ZK >, oi, do, u

Devotion to parents, Chinese ---. Y-f'oq l-

Deceased persons, return of remains to China Ll, 2d, bo

Diseases in China ' ■' „.

among Chinese prostitutes in California •■•'

' white boys 88, 103,107,113, 131

Displacement, by Chinese, of whites-. 51,67,68, 1.25, 130, 132

Domestic relations, Chinese _ --- s

Duffy, James, testimony of '-'

DuffieM. George W., testimony of 4 ;_;

Durkee, John L., testimony of '-

Education in China ... 7, 15, 19, 25, 27 86

Ellis, H. H., testimony of lu

Emigration from China —5,11,12,18,22,31,36,85,99,153

Employment oi Chinese in San Francisco »7

Escapes, women, recapture of.. 33, 17. ~55~59, c,«i. 9~3, L01, 108, 112.115,124,137.142

Exports to Chin;, 14 - 169

Favored nation clause in treaties 6 > 35

Families, Chinese - -■ :--"„yv;; .1°,

in California 21,41, 71,73,97,115,134

Felonies, compromising of "i 3 ',! 8 ^ 1 ^ II

Females, condition of- . 27,33,59,80,86

abandonment of children ■ lb _

Filial devotion ----- ~

Fires in Chinese quarters ■'-• *;

Fraser, J. P. M., testimony of. bo

Galloway, James, testimony of. }*>&

Ambling, Chin 14, 47, 60, 89, 100, 110, 116, 24, 52

suppress! I 61,63,116,124,132

Gibbs, F. A., testimony of 8'

Gibson, Rev. Otis, testimony of.

IIS

130

L46

'. 20, 39

'.Ml.

92,

94,

111

86
153

1 M > E X .

Girls, white, visiting Chinese prostitutes

driven t" prostitution
Gordon, F. L., testimony of
Government, Chinese

of San Francisco

provincial

Gray, Giles 11., testimony of

L33

Iliiii;, George, testimony <>t ^ -^

Holung, Billy, testimony of ,:' 'Y25~"i48 15 8
Honesty, lack of, among Chinese >'•>• 28, 48, 50, 58, 80, 89, M, L/6, J«» g Wjj

Hong-kong, relation to China g 12' 39' 40

area, population, etc. ' '-!)' '|.,|

Hoodlumism, cause of ' g^

Kop-wo Company, President of. , )4

members of J,-

Hospitals, Chinese inmates of- - g -

How, Sin, testimony of yg

Hown, Lee Ming, testimony of

„, . _; 27,39,54

Ignorance, < hmese ^2 2 9

I ™ Srati ^' Son' labor IT^S,^^ ^n^ m/l^m,^, 144

effecl "ii manufactures ~~ r, ,

effect on mining interests " 94

coolie ■—- ~ 25 29

!'""" ,i,s ° f " 26756," 657737777120', 149

!:,-7,w ( ,t;dasses::: ---^s^w 9 ^

SS o 1 ™:: ::::::-427«;is; Vrrn.-rr, bmj

regulations, etc - jgg

Imports from China "99 4.q Vi (i7 l r il

Industries, how affected by presence of Chinese— - - — .• *»£ °^ D ^ ^

Infanticide . ' g

Infidelity, punishment of 29

■ Intermarriage, Chinese and whites__. ^4

intermixture of races _ — ^o

Intelligence offices, Chinese, promotors of crime ----- 12g

. Innocent men ruined

142

Jackson, O. C, testimony of__- 42 lfi5

Japanese, character of— _- " ' jg

r Java, effect of Chinese immigration in__ - " ^

Jones, Charles T.. testimony of " ^

Joy, Captain E. H., testimony of ~~~n»~ZZ~l>Y~Qn~a : i~aii'*QQ "mi

Justice/interference with administration of... -37,48, 81,^ 82,! M.M, 1M,

149

Kan, Lee, testimony of j 9 -

Karcher, Mat., testimony of ^-

Kennedy, Thomas, testimony of- »g

Kinsella, W. H., testimony of " g5

Kong-chow Company, President of fl5

members of '„'„

election of officers

r _ 26

Labor contracts „ 7 14 §4

. Laborers, Chinese — - ""9i"w~4.V~49 51 'o7 '77,

. Labor, how affected by Chmese immigration - ------2 MMfj 4 ... l,M, r,

141

Lee, Sam, testimony of . - s - gg"~fl8 L32

Leprosy among Chinese ' ' ' _' 43

Lewis," Hon. E. J., report of ]9

Literature, Chinese _.:„. "~2<~li~, 44^ 4(751, 60

■ Living, Chmese manner ol—. " ' >> fa , - 2

< Lodging-houses, Chinese ' 5: >

Loomis, Rev. A. W., testimony of.. - ~ f0~7~0 100 102

Lotteries in San Francisco ' gg

Louderback, David, testimony of - - ' 4 '

Low, F. F., testimony of

„ „, . 50, 51 , 67

Manufactures, employment ot Chinese.- 2 g

Marriage-

V1 INDEX.

Marriage contracts . ft

McKenzie, Andrew . testimony of ' 88

Mines and mining, how affected by presence of Chinese 155

Missionary labors, results, characfo r, i tc. 28, 34, 54, 57, 71,78, 79," 87 104

M . . . . l^. 112, 136,141, 157, L58,'l61, 164

Missionary schools _ r - jp.

Money, improper us . 17.7"/™. """to^lAS, 149

sent to China __ ,!> ..r,

Morals ' ';'!' '--"""::"~::::^]'£i'ii;ii]y9, n, a, 92,105

effect oJ presence oi Chinese on white 62. 81, 82, 83, 94, 105, 107, L09 IP

-, n -_ L . „ II.".. 12... 127. L30, 144, 158, 162. 163

Morgenthau, Max, testimony of 6 g

Murder, rewards for 61,ToO~ lbY/llO, 121. 12s. i :;9,T42, 146

fi cts '" -61, 101, 120, 122, 129, 144. 14.% 146

threats to inn i<n

Murphy, D. J., testimony of ._.. 82

Naturalization of Chinese n ,

Ning-yeung Company, President of (U

members of__. __. Q4

Oath, Chinese regard for 48, 60. 7.3, 76, 81, 83, 93, 108, 112. 115, 118, 124, 143

O Neil, Charles P., testimony of Ui

recalled _ "~ -■<,-

Opium, consumption of-. 7I77777775."i£4g7n87l-2, 155

eflect on Chinese population _ .8 4'

physical effects ""' " 8 4^ 108

Pacific Mail Steamship Company, contract with six companies _ _ 13 26 57 66 72

Parental authority ' ' ' .„' ,?

Passions, Chinese under influence of__ 1ft' S7

Polygamy. 77771 B^T^Ys/sT,^ 86

Population of China. ' o

Chinese in California. San Francisco, and on Pacific I ioasl 27, 41, 44, 46, 62. 88 149

Property, how affected by presei f Chinese _' 53

owned by Chinese __ __ "go 179

Prostitutes, importation of _ __________ " _ 21 10o' 109

attempl to send back to ( hina _ / 7 ' ' 01

Prostitution in China " ,~. 9Q

San Francisco.. :;:;. 16, 17. 55, ,v... 60, 71. 7::. - 1 . 93, 97. 99". Urn. 109,~148, 152

" ! " n of — - 61,63, 116, 124. 132

ractsfor 33,59,63,70

a slavery -33,47,48,55,59,69,80,89,93,99,100,108,109,115,120 126 128 136 14°
' on white boj ! .,59,62,81,88, 101, 103, 107, 109, 112.1 13,116,118, 12:.. I26',131

Quon, Si. testimony of n _

R ic ss, intermixture of ., ,

conflict of. "J

Religion, Chinese ________________ 35 54

Resolutions creating committee, etc. ' o

Rice, Rev. H. II.. testimony of ' ]f V

Riotous Chinese ..." ~Vh~~s7 t _±o

Robbery in China ' ,1 .2

Rogers, James R., testimony of ' -„

recalled . --

repori of " 151

Canton,
Ko 1 j-kong.

135

Sam-yup Company, President of.
members of
Schaum, Lem, testimony of
Schell, A., testimony of
Schools for Chine -
Secret tribunals 1 ! ( , . 1 2 -". . 1 2 S ^ ll 2 9~ l"4 (7. 1 4 -S .' 144

S.£irV.llll^ llAllfl.- .._-..-. . . _._-_-. J --__*

19
14

106

Servants, bonds required of

Shaw, M. J., testimony of

Shorb, Dr. J. C, testimony of

Sick, treatment of- .34,47, 55, 59, 72. 80, ss. 89,95. 97. 99. ins. Ill .117. 120, 126, 127^ 1 :;i I ; I J 43

Slavery in < 'hina . ' .,.

of women. 19. :;:;. 17. Is. ;,;,. ;,.... ,;.,. 8 0~ .9, 93, 99 loo'

-.,-,.,., > _ L08, 109, 115, 120, 126, 128, 136, 142. 149, 150

btay in California, length oi ... . _ ______ 39 ug

INDEX. Vll

State Prison, nativity hi cnnvicta 173

Supple, David, testimony of — 80

Thieving among Chinese 19, 18,93,117,120,125, 129,130,155

Theft.- Hii-t 19,50

Threats to kill 100,121

Toland, Dr. H. H., testimony of L02

Ty. Yung, testimony of 94

Universal brotherhood of man - . 102

Veracity, Chinese lack of-37, 48, 60, 75, 76, 81, 83, 90, 108, L12, I L6, L18, L24, L25, 127,128,129,143

Wages in China — - 7, 40, 54, 71, 97

in California 50,67

Webster, Wm. M., testimony of - .. 105

White labor and Chinese - -- 51,67

Wives, plurality of ■- 8,17,55

relative positions.. . 8,55,86

Chinese, in California 21,28, 11,71,73,97,134

Women, social position of 13, 16,19

refusal to leave China - . -.. 21

how held in slavery 3:;. 59, 80, 115, 120, 126, L28, L35, 149, 100

treatment of 34. 47. 55, 59, 80, 117

condition of 41,4s. 59, 80, 86, 135, 136, 142

Woods, David C, testimony of 113

Yan-wo Company, President of 98

members of 98

You, Ah, testimony of 73

You, Ah (No. 2), testimony of— ' 133

Yung-wo Company. President of 97

members of 97

E R R A T A .

Page four, line three from top — For "April 14th." read "April 4th."'
Page fourteen, line two from bottom — For "thirteen" read "three."
Page fourteen, line three from bottom — For •• the sane' " read " similar to that."
Page fifteen, line seven from bottom — After the word " else " read " in the Old World."
Page sixteen, line four from bottom — For "pretense" read "accusation."
Page seventeen, line six from top — Before "children " read •■ female."
Page seventeen, fourth answer — Afterwords " Yes, sir," read " somewhat so."
Page seventeen, line eight from bottom — For the word " individuals " read " communities."
Page eighteen, line twelve from top — After "into" read "the interior of." And add at the
close of that paragraph: "and they are now. or were, when I was there, only allowed
to trade in the interior when given a special government permit so to do."

Page nineteen, line two from top — In pla< f " where" read " upon the top of which."

Page twenty, line five from top — For "the church " read "their church."
Page twenty, line nine from top — Before " high " inserl " si ."

Page twenty, line fourteen from top — After "brick" read "and w 1."

Page twenty, line fifteen from top — Before "the Temple of Heaven" insert "in." strike out

" It is " and insert " There is a high altar there."
Page twenty, line seventeen from top — After "The place" insert "called the Temple of
Heaven;" and after " very pretty," in next line, insert a period, and read: "The roofs
are tiled, and a- regards architectural beauty those temples," etc. And in last line of
-line answer, after "dwellings" read "in the city.
Page twenty, line twenty-two from bottom — Strike out "of wit and." After "harmony" read

"Their writings arc devoid of wit."
Page twenty-one, line three from top — Strike out "as."

Page twenty-one, line twenty-eight from top — After •• hold office" read "and that diploma
places them in the ranks of a sort of nobility, none below them being permitted to hold
any civil office." And after the word " caste." at end of that answer, read : " But it hear-
no resemblaiiee to caste in India."
Page twenty-one, line eleven from hottom — After " Yea, sir," read " the number is not limited."
Page twenty-two. line seven from top — Before " labor" read " white."

Page twenty-three, line three from bottom — After " Burlingame," add: "and, indeed, I had
the highest official authority for knowing that tin- Chinese Government had invested Mr.
Burlingame with no such authority, and had not requested the United States to make
any such treaty. The knowledge of it was a surprise to the Chinese Government, and all
foreign ministers at that court, including our own."
Page twenty-four, line twenty-three from bottom — After "language," read "and engaging in

trade.
Page twenty-four, line fourteen from bottom — Strikeout " can."

CHINESE IMMIGRATION.

THE SOCIAL, MORAL, AND POLITICAL EFFECT OF CHINESE

IMMIGRATION.

TESTIMONY

TAKKN HKFOBE A

imnmHfetj dj 1^ Jbtmltj n\ i|ij JSWtj dj (lalHi&rroa,

APPOINTED APRIL 3, 1876.

CHINESE IMMIGRATION.

On the third day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, in
the Senate of the State of California, the Hon. Creed Haymond,
Senator from the Eighteenth Senatorial District, offered the following
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:

Beit resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That a committee of five Senators be
appointed, with power to sit at any time or place within the State, and the said committee shall
make inquiry :

1. As to the number of Chinese in this State and the effect their presence has upon the social
and political condition of the State.

2. As to the probable result of Chinese immigration upon the country, if such immigration be
not discouraged.

3. As to the means of exclusion, if such committee should be of the opinion that the presence
of the Chinese element in our midst is detrimental to the interest- of t lie country.

4. As to such other matters as, in the judgment of the committee, have a bearing upon the
question of Chinese immigration. And be it further

Meso/fi'J. That said committee, on or before the first day of December, eighteen hundred and
seventy-six, shall prepare a memorial to the Congress of the United States, which memorial
must set out at length the facts in relation to the subject of this inquiry, and such conclusions
as the committee may have arrived at as to the policy and means of excluding Chinese from
the country. And be it further

Resolved, That said committee is authorized and. directed to have printed, at the State Printing
Office, a sufficient number of copies of such memorial, and of the testimony taken by said com-
mittee, to furnish copies thereof to the leading newspapers of the United States, five copies to
each member of Congress, ten copies to the Governor of i nd to deposit two thousand

copies with the Secretary of State of California for seneral distribution. And be it further

Resolved, That such committee shall, on or before the first Monday in December, eighteen
hundred and seventy-six, furnish to the Governor of the State of California two copies of said
memorial, properly engrossed, and the Governor, upon receipt thereof, be requested to transmit,
through the proper channels, em- of -aid copies to the Senate and the oilier to the House of
Representatives of the United State-. And he it further

Resolved, That said committee have full power to send for persons and papers, and to admin-
ister oaths and examine witnesses under oath, and that a majority of said committee shall
constitute a quorum. And be it further

Resolved, That said committee shall have power to employ a Sergeant-at-Arms, at a compen-
sation not to exceed two hundred and fifty dollars, and a phonographic reporter at a comp
fcion not to exceed one thousand dollars, and thai two thousand dollars of the Contingent Fund
of the Senate he set aside, out of which such compensation and the contingent and traveling
expenses of the committee shall be paid upon the order of the Chairman thereof. And be it
further

Resolved. That said committee report to the Senate, at its next session, the proceedings had
hereunder.

Subsequently, on motion, the Senate increased the number of the
committee to seven, and the following Senators were appointed on
said committee: Senators Haymond, McCoppin. Pierson, Donovan,
Rogers, Lewis, and Evans.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSION.

State Capitol, {

Sacramento, April 14th, 1876. j

The committee appointed by the Senate of the State of California
to investigate the subject of Chinese immigration met at two o'clock
p. M.

Present — Senator Raymond, Chairman; Senators Evans. Lewis,
Donovan, McCoppin, Rogers, and Pierson.

Frank Shay was elected official reporter, and Cronk, Sergeant-

at-Arms.

3|C SjC __ 3f£ 3|C 3jc 5fC 3fE 3)e

The committee adjourned to meet at the City of San Francisco on
the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six.

San Francisco, April 11th, 1876.

The committee met pursuant to adjournment — present, all the
members — and proceeded to take testimony, as follows:

F. F. Low sworn.

Mr. Pit rson — How long did you reside in ( Ihina ?

A. — I resided there about three years and a half.

Q. — in what parts of China V

A. — Chiefly in Pekin; that was my residence.

Q. — Are you familiar with the immigration of Chinese to this State?

A. — Not from personal observation, because 1 was in a different
part of the empire than from whence this immigration comes.

Q. — From where does it come?

A. — Principally from Hong-kong.

Q. — What position did you occupy in China?

A. — Minister Plenipotentiary from the Cuited States to the Em-
peror of China.

Q. — During what years?

A. — Eighteen hundred and seventy, eighteen hundred and seventy-
one, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, and a portion of eighteen
hundred and seventy-three.

Q. — Have you any knowledge of the terms upon which the Chinese
emigrate from China to this country, either officially or personally?

A. — 1 have no knowledge.

Q. — Is it voluntary or involuntary? Do they come voluntarily, or
are they sent here?

A. — Before 1 can answer that question perhaps it will he well for
me to state that the emigration from Hong-kong is not from China, a
fact which seems to have been lost sight of by almost everybody that
discusses this question. The Island of Hong-kong is a British posses-
sion, ceded to the British Crown by the Government of China, and
is organized, I think, the same as Australia. It is a British colony,
governed the same as any other British possession.

Q. — Under no jurisdiction of the Chinese Empire at all?

A. — No more than Canada. How these people get to Hong-kong I
do not know. I suppose they go in sam-pans, in boats, steamers, and
all sorts of ways, and then emigrate from Hong-kong to San Fran-
cisco.

Mr. McCoppin — Don't the Chinese come from different parts of
China to Hong-kong to take ships there, just as emigrants from Eng-
land, Ireland, and Scotland used to go to Liverpool?

A. — Yes, sir. But take the Chinese here and you would not find
one in a thousand — probably one in five thousand — but that came
from Kwang-tung, the province of which Canton is Capital. There
are their homes; they are all from one section of the country. We
have anglicized " Canton;" made that name out of the original Chinese
words "Kwang-tung." So far as it appears from all evidences, all
the emigrants from Kong-kong are freemen ; indeed, I understand
that the British emigration law forbids anybody but voluntary emi-
grants embarking; forbids a vessel clearing unless all the emigrants
on board are voluntary emigrants, and that is to be certified to before
the vessel can have a clearing.

Mr. Pierson — Who is the American Consul at Hong-kong, now?

A. — It is not easy to tell you that, the mutations of office are so
frequent. David G. Bailey was the last one that I heard of.

Mr. Evans — You are then of the impression that the people do not
come here as peons, under contract — that that theory is not correct?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — You think that they come here as free people?

A. — On the face of it, yes; that is the only impression that I have.

Mr. Pierson- — Do you know of the existence in Hong-kong, or any
part of China, of companies such as they have here?

A. — These companies all have agents in Hong-kong.

Mr. McCoppin — Each company here has an agency there?

A. — I do not speak from absolute knowledge, but that is my under-
standing. The Chinese people are made up of guilds, of all sorts and
kinds, and rule, in this manner, everything sold — as tea, silks, etc.,
even to the transportation on wheelbarrows. It is all governed by
guilds or associations, and these, probably, have some general head-
quarters in China; probably at the hospital to which the companies
here telegraphed a short time since.

Q. — I suppose that is the place where all the people are received or
taken prior to being shipped?

A. — That is my belief; I do not know. These people deny that
such are the facts; practically, all Chinese come here through means
advanced by these companies or individuals, or by people hei;e,

through these companies. I think it is by no means sui'e that the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company is not importing Chinese to-day
through these companies. I know the Central Pacific Railroad Com-
pany did it.

Mr. Fran* — Oftentimes friends and relatives here send for their
friends and relatives there, don't they?

A. — There may be individual eases, but not many. I know the
Central Pacific Railroad Company imported thousands and thousands
of coolies through Chinese agents, and that they advanced money for
passage, and took it out in work, with a bonus.

Mr. Pierson — Do you understand that these Chinamen here come
under contracts, and that they must work themselves free from them ?

A. — Their contract is simply to repay the amount advanced for
their passage, with a sufficient bonus to recompense them for the risk,
interest, etc. In other words, if they advanced forty dollars for pas-
sage they exacted that they should pay one hundred dollars, perhaps,
in return, to be deducted from wages — five dollars a month or ten
dollars a month, after they arrive; after they work that out they are
free.

Q. — In an interview between you and a Chronicle reporter

A. — That was a very imperfect report.

Q. — I did not gather what your ideas were about the Burlingame
treaty. From your answers, I infer that no modification of the treaty
can help us?

A. — You can see that yourself. Suppose the Chinese come from
Australia, any inhibition in the Burlingame treaty could not have
anything to do w r ith them. Divest yourself of the idea that Hong-
kong is not China, and you have the question in a nutshell.

Mr. McCoppin — So that any modification of the Chinese treaty

A. — If the British Government and the United States Government
should agree to any inhibition regarding the emigration of Chinese
from a British port, then the Chinese Government might have cause
for a grievance, for they had a treaty with this country, but a modifi-
cation of the Burlingame treaty could have no effect one way or the
other.

Q. — Is not the whole remedy of this evil with Congress? Has it
not the power to pass laws restricting this class of immigration ?

A. — It is not easy to map out.

Q. — Is not the power there?

A. — Yes, sir ; the same as — it all lies there, if anywhere. It is not
an easy problem to solve by any means, because of our treaties with
China. We derive a large portion of our rights and privileges in
China from the fact of the " favored nation " clause in those treaties;
that is, when China makes a treaty with the United States, France,
Great Britain, and all other countries, it is usual, and I think it is
universal, to insert this " favored nation " clause, which reads sub-
stantially as follows : " That any rights other than those granted in
this treaty, that have or may be granted to any other nation, shall
inure to the nation that makes this treaty; " so that all our treaties
with China contain that clause, and a very large proportion of our
rights that we have there comes through the operation of the
"favored nation " clause in our treaties, that we have gathered from
other treaties.

Mr. Pier-son — The great mass of the immigrants here, of the Chinese,
is of the very lowest order of Chinese, is it not?

A. — They are the laboring classes, and, usually coming from sea-
port towns, might be considered the lowest class of laborers; the
agricultural laborers ranking next to the officials.

Q. — Then we get most of our Chinese immigration from sea-port
towns ?

A. — I am assuming that they come from the neighborhood of Can-
ton — boatmen and men who work for hire, or the common class of
laborers. Agricultural laborers are regarded with great consideration
in the social ethics of China ; indeed, agriculture has been ennobled
by the action of the government, In the gradation of Chinese
society the officials hold the highest rank ; next come the agricul-
tural laborers ; then the manufacturers who increase values by work-
ing raw materials into articles of use; then the trader, let him trade
in anything— peanuts, or dry goods at wholesale. They are dealers
all the same; they exchange commodities, producing nothing.

Q. — His caste is lower than the laborer?

A. — Yes, sir. Then we have the professional man — he is lower
still. A lawyer in China is pretty nearly as bad as actors and barbers,
who are without the pale of social life.

Mr. Do ik >r(in — Then the lawyers are a stage above actors and bar-
bers ?

A. — Yes, sir. When I say lawyers, there is practically no such
thing; there are men who hang about the Courts, but they answer
more to the description of French notaries or conveyancers — men
who draw papers. There are no differences in their grades.

Mr. Pierson — Where do we get the bulk of our immigration?

A. — From the laboring classes.

Q. — What are the customary wages of laborers in China?

A. — From ten to twenty cents a day. Perhaps ten cents will be
nearer the average for common laborers.

Q, — They support themselves out of that?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How do those people live ? What is their social position there?
Do they live on the water or on the land ?

A. — They live on the land, with the exception of around about the
City of Canton, where a great many people live in boats, knowing
no law. They make their homes in boats, but that is a very small
portion of the population. China is an immense empire, and we are
only dealing with the little fringe around the edges. We know com-
paratively little of the interior.

Q. — I was asking to see if we drew the mass of our immigration
from sea-port towns?

A. — I assume we do, for the laborers; the men who own a little
piece of land and cultivate it will not come here, because they are
independent. Those only who are obliged to work for wages will
come. I speak now of the mass. Of course some merchants come
here, because they will go anywhere where there is profit to be made
in trade and traffic,

Q. — Now as to their education — can the lower classes of people read
and write ?

A. — Most of them can, to a certain extent,

Q. — What is their system of education : is it a governmental sys-
tem?

A. — No, sir. It is all private education. They have neighborhood
schools that are supported by the voluntary contributions of the

neighborhood; sometimes by assessments levied, but that is all vol-
untary. There is nothing compulsory in it.

Q. — What about their domestic relations in regard to marriage?

A. — It is incumbent upon every man to marry. This is the custom
of the country. The public opinion of the people makes it absolutely
compulsory, and everybody does many. Even at a young age, mar-
riage contracts are made by the parents of either side, and they are
betrothed from infancy, frequently. As soon as they are old enough
to marry, they marry.

Q. — Do we get any considerable proportion of married Chinamen
here?

A. — Very likely.

Q. — Do they leave their wives in China?

A. — They leave their wives at home.

Q, — Is it not a fact that the great bulk of the Chinese women that
come here are prostitutes?

A. — That is to be presumed. I assume that as the fact,

Mr. Evans — How are the people there — in China — as regards chas-
tity?

A. — The bulk of the people are chaste. It is only around large
cities where we have immorality and vice. On this point I have the
testimony of those who have traveled a great deal in the interior,
where immorality on the part of married women is punished with
terrible severity — where they are tabooed from society.

Mr. Pierson — Are men restricted,- by the laws of China, to one wife?

A. — No, sir. The others, after the first, are called wives, and the
children are legitimate, too. A Chinaman who has wealth can take
as many wives as he chooses — as many as he can support. It is a
mere matter of bargain and sale with the parents. If a family have
a surplus of girls that cannot be betrothed in the regular way, they
dispose of them as second and third wives.

Mr. Donovan — They can have as many wives as they can buy?

A. — Yes, sir. But the second, third, fourth, and fifth wives are all
subordinate to the first; she is mistress of the household.

Q. — Can the women have as many husbands as they like?

A. — X<>: they are restricted.

Mr. Pierson — What do you understand to be the population of
China?

A. — It is popularly thought to be four hundred millions, but my
opinion is that it is overestimated. Three hundred millions would
be a fair estimate, although we have so little data that it is impos-
sible to tell with anything approaching accuracy. The population
of China has decreased in the last century very largely. That don't
admit of doubt,

Q. — From what causes?

A. — From rebellion, insurrection, famine in certain districts, and
more than all, the consumption of opium; for it is an established
fact, I think, by the medical fraternity, that the confirmed opium-
eater is incapable of procreation.

Q. — Do you understand, Governor, that there is any particular
prevalence in China of syphilitic diseases?

A. — No more than here.

Q. — Or elephantiasis?

A. — In the southern provinces. Elephantiasis is in Hong-kong, as
in all tropical countries.

Q. — It is common, then, to India and southern China?

A. — To all tropical countries — Central America, for instance.

Q. — Any prevalence of leprosy?

A. — Leprosy is not uncommon in China, although it is not preva-
lent in the north of China. Goitre, a swelling of the glands of the
throat, is frequent, and is supposed to come from the water. The
whole valley on the northern part of the Yang-tse-kiang is im-
pregnated with muriate of lime, and this disease was attributed to
the lime water. Whether this was the cause, or not, f do not know.

Mr. Mc( 'oppin — The introduction of opium, was that in this century?

A. — In the year eighteen hundred, according to the host statistics I
could obtain, the importation of India opium into China was about
four thousand chests, one hundred and thirty-three pounds each.
according to the best data I could obtain. In the year eighteen hun-
dred and seventy-three, or we will take the year eighteen hundred
and seventy-one, the importation of opium into China was ten thou-
sand five hundred tons. In addition to that, the native production
amounts to fully the foreign importation.

Q. — The English first introduced opium there?

A. — Yes, sir; it came from India — the East India Company.

Mr. Pierson — How far is the island upon which Hong-kong is
situated from the mainland?

A. — Oh, it is just a passage for the ships of the Chinamen; not
farther than from here (City Hall) to Goat island.

Mr. Evans — Do you know the area of that island?

A. — I do not know. It is just a rocky sort of island, a forbidding-
sort of place, although they have spent a great deal of money improv-
ing it.

Q. — AY hat is the population ?

A. — I won't pretend to say. It is very largely Chinese. Most of
the population is Chinese. There must be half a million, I suppose.

Mr. McCoppin — What benefit, if any, does America, as a nation,
derive from this immigration from China, outside of its trade? Does
the immigration give the right to Americans to go into China, and
trade to any extent, and have they availed themselves of it?

A. — Very largely.

Q. — I mean out side of Hong-kong — China proper?

A. — There is a good trade with Shanghai. On the Yang-tse-
kiang River there is a line of steamers owned by Americans, where
they must have, I should think, fifteen, perhaps not as large as the
largest river steamers in America, but larger than any we have here;
larger than the steamer Capital. The freight-carrying capacity of
those steamers is between two thousand five hundred and three thou-
sand tons, besides a large passenger capacity.

Q. — Owned and operated by Americans?

A. — Yes, sir.

0- — Where do they run ?

A. — Run from Shanghai to Hang-kow ; that is the head of naviga-
tion.

Mr. Pierson — Have you any idea how large an American popula-
tion there is in China to-day?

A. — I cannot tell from memory. I have some books that I can
consult, and give a pretty accurate estimate. We have a very large
trade in cotton goods in China, also in heavy cottons and drills and
twilled goods. During the war, when cotton was high, the English

dug into the trade, and counterfeited our trademarks, thus securing
(In 1 bulk of the trade, which they have kepi ever since, by making
lighter goods, and sizing them differently. I have seen hales of
drills at Hang-kow marked " Lawrence Mills, Mass.." thai never
saw the I United States.

Mr. Donovan — Do von think there are five thousand Americans in
China'/

A. — 1 should say yes, for a guess. I do not speak from knowledge.

Q. — Do you think that would he a lair estimate?

A. — I would not like to make an estimate without consulting some
statistics, since it would be a wild sort of a guess.

Mr. Pierson — From what source do you think we would be able to
get any accurate information as to the terms upon which the Chinese
come to this country?

A. — Von can get it only by digging down into those affairs here.

Q. — Would the Minister to China be able to g;ive any information?

A.— Oh, no!

Q,— There are Consuls

A. — There are Consuls ; but the government does not provide them
with any machinery. They give them secretaries; but they are
posted two hundred miles from where the emigrants come.

Q. — Then what we do get will have to be obtained here?

A. — This seems to be the place.

Q. — Practically, I understand you, if any such system exists as
involuntary emigration

A. — -You can hardly call it involuntary emigration.

Q. — If that system does exist, it is in violation of our treaty, is it
not ?

A. — It is in violation of our treaty, and in violation of the Chinese
law. The Chinese themselves are opposed to the exportation of
coolie labor, more than we are to the immigration. They have three
great griefs against foreign nations. One is opium; the second is
coolie emigration. When I speak of coolie emigration. I mean as it
has gone on in years past, as the exportation of coolies from Macao
to Peru and Havana. Those coolies thus taken away under contract,
we know, were ill-treated, and the contracts violated. The Chinese
felt very sore about this, and appointed a commission a year ago ;
and I think they abrogated their treaty with Spain on account of it.
Spain had a sort of treaty that permitted the taking away of contract
labor, and they shut down on it. I sustained them in it, too.

Mr. Donovan — The proposition, as I understand it, is that as long
as the} 7 keep the contract the Chinese take no exceptions; but when
they break the contract they do take exceptions.

A. — It takes a long story to explain that. When the English and
French captured Pekin, in eighteen hundred and sixty, they made a
supplemental treaty, which provided, among other tilings, that the
Chinese might be taken under contract to go abroad, under such
rules and regulations as mighl be prescribed by government. The
view of the English was to get laborers to take to the West India
possessions, where they wanted labor, and subsequently Alcock, the
British Minister, together with the French Government, concluded
some articles of agreement by which contracts might be made. These
contracts required five years' service and the return of the men by
the contractors, etc. So many conditions were required that the
British Government rejected the articles, and since that there has

been nothing'. Involuntary emigration, or immigration under con-
tract, has been and is discouraged by the < ihinese ( rovernment. You

must understand that this treaty was made under duress. It was
dictated to China, with cannon planted around her capital — Pekin.
That treaty was written for them. They did not write it themselves,
and they have obstructed, in every way possible, emigration other
than free emigration.

Mr. McCoppin — What is the name of the gentleman, in China, con-
nected with the American Embassy?

A— Mr. Williams.

Q.— Where is he?

A. — He sailed on the last steamer for China. He lias been Secre-
tary of the legation, speaks the Canton dialect as well as English,
and it you had some man like that here your committee could gain
much information of value. He goes among the Chinese and talks
with them in their own language. His residence is Pekin.

Mr. Pierspn — Will you explain the n/odns operandi of shipping
men — the forms that they have to go through with in order to ship
them at all ?

A. — I don't know. That is what 1 want to find out. What I know
is, that a manifest — a list of passengers, with their various occupations.
All appear to be free, voluntary emigrants, and the Consul certifies
to that fact, nothing to the contrary being asserted.

Mr. Donovan — It seems that the Chinamen who come here have
some sort of a contract with some one, by which their bones are
to be returned to China in case of death ?

A. — That seems to be the fact.

Q. — And they won't come here except under contract to take their
bones back ?

A. — I assume that to be the case.

Mr. Pierson — You assume they all do come under contract?

A. — So I assume. Forty or fifty dollars is the passage money by
steamer. You take a common laborer, one who has not that amount
of money, and advance it ; he agrees to work it out. Those who
have that much money will not come, because they are independent.

Mr. McCoppin — I suppose that to be buried in China is a part of
the religion of that country.

A. — It comes from Confucius' doctrine of the worship of ancestors;
but then a great many Chinese go to the East Indias, die there, and
their bones are never brought back to China. It is a short distance,
and I presume those who go there do so on their own hook, there
being no contract by which some one must see to the sending back
of the bones. At the same time there is that feeling among the
Chinese, inculcated by their religion — if religion it may be called —
that they sleep better if they can have their descendants make offer-
ings at their graves when they are buried. They think they will be
happier in the other world, and all of them, therefore, desire it.

Mr. Pierson — If they ship here under contract, it is in direct viola-
tion of the British colonial laws, as well as our treaty?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — So that the British Government must wink at their deception?

A. — Yes ; it seems as if they must. The English Government has
a law for ferreting out the fact whether they are free emigrants or
not. If they are free, they are permitted to go on board the English
ships. At the present time there are very severe pains and penalties

provided for the importation of coolies in American vessels; but
these do not apply to foreign governments. Where emigrants
embark in English vessels they arc beyond the reach of our laws.

Q. — Have you any means of knowing, approximately, the number
of Chinese' in California, or in San Francisco?

A. — No, sir; I have a sort of general impression that the number
is overestimated. Of course the statistics of those who have arrived,
and the departures by steamers for China, and the number of deaths,
might be ascertained. A great many go back to China.. They conic
here because they have good wages, and after serving two or three
years they have a competence, and away they go. In the autumn a
great many go home, so as to be there during the Chinese new year,
and have a grand blow-out.

Mr. Haymond — Is it not your impression that the immigration here
is an off-shoot of the coolie trade, the only difference being that that
trade is under the auspices of the government, while this is a private
enterprise ?

A. — No; I think this emigration sprung up originally from the
building of these great railroads. They brought us a large Chinese
immigration to this coast.

Q. — You have spoken of free emigration and enforced emigration,
how would you class this?

A. — 1 class this as enforced emigration; but that is hardly the
proper name for it, because they are not bound to any certain term of
service, as 1 understand it. The contract is simply to repay advance-
ments made for passages, with a certain bonus to pay for interest and
risk.

Mr. McCoppin — I suppose that Chinamen wishing to come to this
country, in the hope of bettering their condition, and not having
money to pay the passage, make contracts with these companies to
pay them back for advances made, with interest, etc. ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Mr. Evans — Don't you know white immigrants that came to Cali-
fornia that way?

A. — Yes, sir; and they never kept their contracts as the Chinese
do. There was a very large sprinkling of immigration that came to
California that way in forty-nine.

Mr. Donovan — Do the Chinese keep their contracts better than the
Americans?

A. — They don't know our laws here, and the companies have such
absolute power over them that they keep their contracts. The guilds
have absolute {tower over them here and in their own country.

Mr. Pierson—H&ve the Chinese Government any tribunals in Hong-
kong?

AT— It is an entirely British colonial government. The Chinese
have no government there.

Q. — Are Chinamen tried in British tribunals?

A. — Certainly.

Mr. Haymond — You say the guilds in China have absolute control
over them. To what extent— to the extent of life and liberty?

A. — They cannot take a man's life by law, but they can persecute
and depress him.

Q. — He then is absolutely at their mercy?

A. — You take the merchants' guild — the tea merchants' guild for
instance; it decides that the members shall not sell tea below a cer-

tain price. Suppose a member breaks that agreement; he will be
ruled out, and his credit will be destroyed; he will be bankrupted.
There are various ways in which they can enforce their decrees. The
great power of these Chinese companies over the people here is due,
in a measure, to the fact tli at the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
will not sell them tickets for China until they get certificates from
their companies, and the companies will not give the certificates
until the people shall have paid their debts.

Mr. Donovan— I have been told that the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company have a contract with the Chinese companies, that it will
not sell Chinamen tickets unless they get certificates from the com-
panies that they are free; that they have served their term of servi-
tude 9

A. — Substantially that is a fact. 1 recollect having a conversation
with Mayor Otis about it, and he said that company had to conform
to the wishes of the companies, because the trade was worth too
much. I know, from my knowledge of the Chinese people, that very
few can raise money enough to pay for a passage here. Somebody
has to pay it. A common, laborer, who has fifty dollars, will not
come here; he is independent.

Mr. Haymond — And this money is advanced by the companies, and
they enforce payment by having a contract witli the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company by which they can keep these Chinamen here
until they shall have paid everything?

A. — That is their safety in making advances; but that is only a
supposition on my part — an opinion I have formed from facts that
have come under my own observation.

Q, — Is it not the prevailing opinion in the neighborhood of the
ports from which these people are shipped, that a great many are
shipped against their will — for instance, the women?

A.— No.

Q. — It is with their consent?

A. — Yes, sir. Where a woman is under age she has very little to
say. The parents make contracts to sell them in marriage, or any-
thing else they please.

Mr. Donovan — As I understand it, the parents have a right to make
marriage contracts, and the woman really has no control of herself
in China?

A. — Nor the boy either.

Q. — I mean the woman; if she is of age and unmarried?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — -And consequently the women that come here must be sold or
given away?

A. — That would be a fair assumption.

Q. — And brought to this country for Of course we know

the purposes for which they are brought here?

A. — There may be some exceptions ; but that is the general assump-
tion.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been a resident of California?

A. — I have been a resident here since the fourth of June, eighteen
hundred and forty-nine.

Q. — What business have you been engaged in?

A. — Merchant and banker. I have been Governor of the State,
member of Congress, Collector of the Port of San Francisco, and
Minister to China.

Q,. — What commodities or products of the United States are now
sold in China — exported in any quantities?

A. — Most every product of the country. Quite a large trade has
sprung up between here and there in domestic produce, bread-
stuffs, etc.

Q. — Are these consumed by China proper or by the foreign popu-
lation ?

A. — They do not go into the interior, and are consumed principally
by the foreigners. The Chinese themselves could not afford to live
on flour. As the Chinese become more anglicized they may change
in this respect. Flour is a sort of luxury there just now, and cannot
be used extensively.

Q. — What is the general condition of the working classes, as com-
pared with that of the working classes of this country '■

A. — More average comfort, according to their ideas of comfort.
According to our ideas, it would be misery. There are fewer abject
poor. That comes partly from the fact that labor is honorable, and
everybody works ; everybody is expected to work, and a drone has
no sympathy.

Q. — Do you know the average amount required to support a laborer
per day ?

A. — I can judge from the fact that the wages are small and that
the families are supported on them.

Q. — Ten cents a day ?

A. — Yes ; and in foreign settlements a common laboring coolie,
employed by a foreigner, would get five or six dollars a month. Out
of that they support considerable families, but they make the fami-
lies work also. Every individual works — the wife works and all
work.

Mr. Donovan — Could the Collector of the Port do anything to pre-
vent these people coming here as they do ?

A. — No. When the manifest comes to him properly certified, 1
don't think the Consul would have the power to go behind it.

Q. — How many children, as a rule, do families average, that are
supported on ten cents a day?

A. — About the same as it is here.

W. J. Shaw sworn.

Mr. Haymond — State generally what you know of the social and
political condition of the Chinese in their own country, their habits,
mode of life, manner in which they work, wages, and customs
generally.

A. — 1 went to China when I was abroad. I went to Shanghai,
to Tien-tsin, to Pekin, the Great Wall and back, up the Yang-tse-
kiang, and into the interior about five hundred and fifty miles. I
visited several of the chief towns, and studied the country and the
people as well as I could; but I don't know that I have anything
new to communicate. I found the Chinese a peculiar people. Their
government is one of the most remarkable that I have ever studied.
While it is hardly any government at all, yet it maintains a kind of
control over the largest population of any one government in the
world. I attribute this to what we may call their religion. They are
educated in a manner ever the same — the same which prevailed in
Christendom thirteen hundred years ago. They are taught that all
the knowledge that is of real value is found in the works of Confucius.

In their schools they are educated in his works: and the learning to
be found in them, and in the works of his contemporaries, constitute
the whole of their system of education. Among the most striking
features of that education is their devotion to parents; and that
parental relation seems to me to afford some clue to their extra-
ordinary condition governmentally. They live in families, and
sometimes these families are very large. 1 have been assured that
sometimes twenty to forty married people constitute one family, and
they bring up their children all together. It is a family relation
emphatically: and in such a country, under such a condition of
things, there is very little necessity for governmental interference.
The families are held responsible for the conduct of their children.
When a child of bad habits, disregarding the example and teachings
of his parents, becomes uncontrollable, and the parents don't know
what to do with him, they have the right, as I am assured— a right
that is very often practiced— to rid the world of that child. They
say : " We can do nothing with this child. It will only disgrace us;
and it is better for us to drown him in the river than to bring him
up in this way." Their teachings lead them to literally worship
their parents. I have seen them bow reverentially to their parents
as a pagan would to his god. The idea of resisting parental authority
is regarded with horror; and it does not enter their minds, except
under extraordinary circumstances. The consequence is, that the
parental rule of the family provides a rule for the whole country,
without the interference of government, as we understand it. In
some districts, however, particularly in the interior, up the Yang-tse-
kiang River, it is customary for the natives to form expeditions to
rob from village to village; and as they increase the number of _ vil-
lages captured, the horde becomes more extensive, and they continue
on robbing and pillaging until their numbers amount to almost an
army. I was shown on the Yang-tse-kiang River an extensive
territory recently pillaged. The whole place was devastated. The
central government has no particular power over them. I was told
that when such occurrences happened, the government would send
its mandate to the Governor of the province, insisting that order
should be preserved. Sometimes they succeeded in quelling the
disturbances, and sometimes they were quelled by the voluntary
dispersion of the members of the gangs. I was assured that in that
country these tilings are not of rare occurrence. 1 was also assured
that a very large portion of the population, particularly the working
population, were simply slaves — some of. them slaves from birth; but
as a rule, or at least in very frequent instances, they were enslaved
in a manner not unknown to foreign nations, being sold to pay debts.
A very large proportion of the laboring classes composes this latter
class. The labor of agriculture is encouraged by the example of the
Emperor himself. At certain times in Pekin he holds the plow
himself. It is undoubtedly to show that the government has a high
respect for agriculture. But although this high example is set, and
agriculture is so ennobled, yet it is in China, like everywhere else — ■
the real work is done by the lower classes. The highest members
are those who are considered to be nearest the courts. The army
proper consists of agriculturists ; that is to say, the members are
given ground to cultivate, and they cultivate the land, thus main-
taining themselves and their families by their own labor. They are
not paid salaries as in other countries, but are made to earn their

own living in that way. The regular army in China is considered,
in villages where it. is sent to quell disturbances, as the most dangerous
element that could visit them, because they are usually hungry, and
consider themselves at liberty to help themselves to any provisions
or property that are loose. Shortly after the Tae-ping rebellion, 1 was
told that the towns preferred the visits of the rebels to the visits of
the regular army.

Mr. Pierson—What do you understand by coolie labor?

A. — Slave labor, I should understand; what we call slave labor;
perhaps more closely resembling peonage than strictly slave labor.

Mr. Haymond — There is no obligation on the part of the person hold-
ing them to take care of them ?

A. — What the law may be on that point 1 cannot say.

Mr. Pierson — How long' were you in ( !hina, Mr. Shaw?

A. — I do not remember. I think about three or four months.

Q. — During what year?

A. — In eighteen hundred and sixty-eight.

Q. — Were you in Hong-kong?

A.— Yes; I remained at Hong-kong some little time, two or three
weeks, 1 think, visiting in that vicinity.

<,). — Do you know anything about the mode of the shipping of
Chinese to this port?

A. — I do not know anything about it.

Mr. Rogers — How do these Chinamen you see here compare with
the generality of the Chinese?

A. — The masses are about the same as we see here. In cases where
they are better here, the change is caused by the better country.

Q. — Are the women there very little lower than these we see here?

A. — The women there are, of course, in a very peculiar condition.
Prostitution, for instance, in China, is not regarded as a disgrace, but
is regarded as a profession, a calling, like that of beggary, or any of
the low professions — a condition in which they must remain, because
they have been occupying it. It is supposed that they are not respon-
sible for it. The condition of the lower classes is as near, as 1 should
think, thai of the brutes as any human exhibition can be found any
where in human society. In Pekin, I visited the Sisters of Mercy,
who have a society there, and I saw in that house children, girls from
infancy, still unweaned, up to fourteen and fifteen years of age. I
was assured by the Sisters — and have no question of its truth — that
those children Avere picked up, for the most part, by them out of the
streets. Frequently mothers have brought their girl children to the
Sisters, and voluntarily delivered them, to be raised by them; and it
was no rare occurrence when a girl was born to place it on the street,
abandon it to its late, because the parents had no means to bring it
up. I cannot give any accurate idea as to the number I saw in
that institution. At that time I gained the impression that infanti-
cide and tin' abandonment of female infants were things much prac-
ticed there — to an extent unheard of amongst us or any other nation.
At Tien-tsin more Sisters have a convent, and most of the inmates
were children [ticked out of the gutters, where they were left by their
parents. The inmates of this convent, as you are aware, were mas-
sacred by the Chinese population on one occasion, under the pretense
that they were bringing up these children as Christians. That organ-
ization is sustained by the Catholic Church; they are Catholic
institutions, sustained as they are in other countries. Most of th

Sisters in the convent at Pekin were French, two of them, I think,
being Irish by birth. They were sent there and maintained as those
organizations arc in other countries. 1 found the numbers in these
institutions to be governed by the room in their buildings more than
the supply. They were all tilled, and there were subjects for many
more besides — children abandoned by their parents.

Q. — How does living in Chinese cities compare with living here?

A.— Their living here must be very far superior to their living
there. 1 mean the laboring classes, what would be called there the
coolie class. So far as I observed, they seemed well satisfied if they
got plenty of rice.

C>. — What wages did they get?

A. — That I never went into sufficiently to give me any proper ideas
as to the rule of wages. With regard to the coolies, their wages would,
of course, -imply be their rice.

.1//'. Donovan — Do they have more wives than one?

A.— Yes, sir. They are allowed to have as many as they want.
Strictly speaking they have but one wife. That wife is permitted,
and it is considered no disgrace to encourage the husband to have as
many more women in the same house as he can support, They are
his concubines. They would more nearly correspond, according to
our ideas, to concubines than to wives. They have a claim for sup-
port, and the children are the children of the wife. In law they are
held to be the legitimate children of the father. They are credited
to the first or legal wife. The wife, when she loves her husband, con-
siders that she does him a kindness in inviting in others to assist in
the domestic relations.

Q. — I understood you to say that in these little villages and places
in China, where one makes Avar upon another, they feel that they
have a right to decide that quarrel without respect to the central
government, and punish criminals as they see fit. The central gov-
ernment is of secondary consideration?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And regarding these guilds or companies, is their authority
regarded as paramount to that of government?

A. — As I understand it, these guilds or companies are formed as a
sort of mutual protection societies. The members have a strong feel-
ing for their companies, and would be ready to obey any reasonable
request, and sometimes any unreasonable request. They consider
themselves as strictly amenable to the companies, and if these com-
panies undertake to enforce any rule made by them they will gen-
erally do it,

Q — If, in China, they respect their companies more than they do
their government, they would be the same here, would they not?

A. — So I should imagine. I should explain those raids that I men-
tioned more fully. It is not an uncommon thing in Asia for raids to
be made. On the borders of British India, for instance, individuals
sometimes lose their crops; they are short of food and become hun-
gry, and, as is natural in that stage of society, they go somewhere
where they can get food; they therefore make raids into India, fre-
quently on British subjects. Sometimes the English Government
has felt obliged to go into the interior to punish persons making those
raids. The Chinese Government has no power to suppress these
raids, and punishment must come from other sources, if at all. The
■>

natives raid when they are hungry and want food, and these hungry
spells conic on whenever fcheyare desired,i1 seemed to me. In Sing-
apore the condition of the Chinese was a subject of constant reflec-
tion and observation to me. In thai city, at the time I was there,
there was. as 1 was told, over eighty thousand Chinese. They were
given a portion of the town to inhabit, and that portion swarmed
with them. I was assured thai sometimes they became exceedingly
troublesome to the government owing to their being liable to get into
quarrels. When they got into a quarrel they would be destitute of
reason and would he like wild beasts, rushing through the streets
stabbing and killing others. In Java, several years ago, the Dutch
prohibited their immigration into that country, they were feared so
much, because of their influence over the native population.

Q. — In what respect ?

A. — In trade; they were so much more unscrupulous, cunning,
and sellish in making bargains than the natives of Java. The East
India Malays are quite a different character of men from the Chinese.
The Chinese are superior to them in cunning, and they take such
advantages, especially in Java, that they found it necessary to pro-
hibit altogether their going into the interior of the island. They
have been used, however, to advantage in the tin mines of Banca.
In that work they have been very serviceable.

Mr. Pierson — Do you understand that the Chinese Government
favors or desires to repress Chinese emigration ?

A. — It is understood that the government does not desire the
Chinese to leave the country, hut whether their leaving is or is not
in violation of any regulations of that government, I do not know.

Mr. Evans — From what part of China do the Chinese, wdio come to
this coast, come?

A. — From Canton, and from provinces bordering upon that part of
( !hina.

Q, — Under whose control is that part?

A.— Canton is under the Chinese. Hong-kong would be the place
from which they would ship for ( Jalifornia. That is a British colony.
There would be no difficulty for any number of persons to leave
Canton, where there is a constant connection by steamers, for Hong-
kong, where they could ship for California. The mass of Chinese
immigrants do not come from Hong-kong. They simply go there for
the purpose of embarking. The mass go there, for that is the only
place where they can leave the country for America.

Q. — Do you understand that these guilds or companies are in the
relations of families'.''

A. — They are quite different. They are societies having no parental
relations.

Mr. TJaymond — How is the condition of the laboring men in that
country to he compared with the condition of those here?

A. — It is undoubtedly going from misery to comfort. The amount
of destitution in China is very serious. Pekin, in my opinion, is one
of the filthiest cities to be found. There is what is called a Chinese
City of Pekin and a Tartar city. The Chinese city is filthy to a
degree almost beyond belief. I have seen tricks perpetrated in the
streets of Pekin proper that would only be tolerated in brutes in a
civilized country. When I was there I wondered how ladies could
go into the streets at all. and I was told that they hardly ever did ;
that they never attempted to walk in the streets, but when compelled

to go out used the conveyances of that country. When they wanted
exercise they were carried to the walls of the city, where they could
walk without seeing sights that would be disgusting. Those streets
are filthy beyond what should ever be seen among human beings.
The great mass of the people, it seemed to me, were ignorant, and
not in a position to be removed from ignorance. They have, it is
true, a system of education, but thai system of education is confined
to certain books written four thousand years ago. They think there
is no knowledge anywhere that is not found in those books, and, as a
consequence, their learning, from the highest to the lowest, must be
very limited, according to our ideas.

Mr. Pierson — Do they read and writer

A. — They are taught to read and write in the common schools that
are throughout the whole country. It is not a governmental system,
but is kept up by their peculiar system of office-holding. A person
cannot hold office except he have an education in the books I have
described. Those books teach a high system of morals, and they
learn them. About three hundred years ago there were persons who
believed that all the knowledge of any value was embraced in the
Bible, and that office-holders should be compelled to have a thorough
knowledge of its contents. That is the rule in China regarding the
works of Confucius. The consequence is, that although our people
have the idea that the Chinese are very well educated, they are
possessed of only a very limited one. Although they are required
to read and write, and to know Confucius, yet that knowledge in
itself — all they have — is so inadequate to the demands of the present
age, that we may say that they have no education at all.

Mr. Haymond — What was the received opinion among Americans,
English, and other intelligent people in China, as to the character of
emigration to this country, whether free or servile?

A. — With regard to that, I would not like to say. Regarding their
honesty, I can mention this fact, which may interest the committee:
I was assured by all the merchants with whom I conversed on the
subject in the towns that I visited in China, where there are foreign
merchants residing, that nobody hired a Chinese servant without
taking a bond from some responsible person -that he would be respon-
sible for any thefts that servant might perpetrate. It was considered
there, among those with whom I conversed on the subject, that
Chinamen are so constituted that they must sooner or later steal
something. It is their nature. Consequently they are not trusted in
any house until they bring their bondsmen. When thefts are com-
mitted, and they are not of rare occurrence, the bondsmen pay for
the things stolen. As far as I know and heard, no one thought of
hiring a servant without taking a bond to meet any deficiency caused
by theft,

Q. — Are the women considered to amount to anything?

A. — -The women in China occupy the same position as in most parts
of Asia— virtually slaves; mere creatures, to pandor to the wishes of
the males, and promote their happiness.

Mr. Don i) run — You have given us a description of the literature of
the Chinese; now, take their architecture. How does that compare
with other works dating back, say four thousand years — the pyramids,
for instance, of Egypt?

A. — The architecture of the Chinese, if it deserves that name, is the
most primitive of any now in use. In Pekin, for instance, although

it is one of their largest cities. I did no1 see three houses two stories
high, outside of the palaces, which arc inclosed within the city by
themselves. I only heard of one house in the city more than one
story high. I was told bya Father of the Catholic Church that, when
they were erecting the church, they unwittingly erected a steeple.
After that steeple was up, they were notified that they must take it
down. Then they found that there was a law prohibiting anyone
from building a house more than one story high, the reason given
being that they should not be high as to enable theoccupants to look
over into the Emperor's palaces, ami see his grounds, in that case,
the Fathers compromised by agreeing not to put up a stairs or ladder
to get into the steeple.

Mr. Pierson — Of what are their buildings mostly constructed ?

A. — Of brick. There are some structures in Pekin — as. lb]' in-
stance, the Temple of Heaven — that are quite commendable. It is
made of white marble, and the architecture is good. Here the
Emperor, when he is a man grown, sacrifices animals. The place is
very pretty . the roof is tiled; and as regards architectural beauty.
the temple will compare favorably with similar buildings in other
countries. The dwellings, however, are far inferior.

Mr. Dortovan — Is the architecture equal to that of any of the great
nations dating back four thousand years, or those of the present time?

A. — I think not. It is quite inferior to that of the Egyptians, the
Latins and Greeks, and other nations of antiquity. Their literature
is better than their architecture. I have the works of Confucius and
Mensius translated into English. I have examined them with some
attention, and regard them as works of great credit. The morals
they teach are certainly very commendable, and will compare
favorably with the moral teachings of other books of that age. < Out-
side of those works I have never read any works of the Chinese.
The Chinese, so Dr. Williams says, are almost destitute of imagina-
tion. They have no poets, as we understand them. What they have
is of the most inferior, commonplace character. Their music is
quite destitute of wit and harmony. Their novels are exceedingly
simple stories, such as our little boys and girls read here.

Mr. Pierson — Are their officers elected or a] (pointed?

A. — They are appointed by the government. They have competi-
tive examinations ; but they are only in the works I have mentioned,
so that the choice is confined to persons educated according to the
government method.

Q. — Do you know of any diseases peculiar to China ?

A. — I do not,

Q. — Is there a great deal of leprosy there?

A. — There is said to be a great deal in certain districts.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Ever since June, eighteen hundred and forty-nine.

Q. — What positions have you held in California?

A. — 1 have never held any except what you gentlemen now hold.
Besides that, 1 was District Attorney here in this city (San Francisco)
in eighteen hundred and fifty. I was in the State Senate twice.
That is all.

Q. — From what you have seen of those people, and from what you
know of your own knowledge, what effect do you think a large emi-
gration from that country to this would produce on our social and
political condition?

A. — It would have the most deplorable effects. It seems to mc
that a large Chinese immigration would cheapen labor to such a
degree, as that white labor could not compete with them.

Q. — Why would they cheapen it? Why can these people work
cheaper':

A. — For the reason that the Chinaman, from his birth, is educated
to live cheaply, to live on the smallest amount possible to be con-
ceived of. I suppose that a penny a day would feed a Chinaman in
China very comfortably, indeed. Those habits of living he brings
with him to this country ; and he can live here for so much less than
can men of our own race, that with even one-half the wages he can
obtain sufficient living, and an equal amount of profit with free
labor.

Q. — Do they bring their families with them?

A. — They do not. I am told that there are some Chinese mer-
chants here who have their wives; but, as a rule, the women will not
leave China at all. When their husbands want to leave China, they
tell them to go; but they will not go with them.

Q. — Every steamer that comes here from China brings a number
of Chinawomen. Do you know from general repute the character
of those women ?

A. — The general understanding here is that they are of the lowest
kind : that these women are, as a rule, prostitutes.

Mr. Lewis — -About what proportion of the people in China are
what you call people of rank ?

A. — It would be impossible for me to say. I suppose that nobility
there is hereditary, although men on passing examinations are enti-
tled to hold office. There is caste in China to certain extents. The
guilds have employments of various kinds, and they make their
members adhere to those employments. This amounts, to a certain
extent, to caste.

Mr. Evans — You said, awhile ago, speaking of the women, that as a
rule those coming here are prostitutes. How is it regarding the mar-
ried women? Are they chaste or lewd?

A. — As I understand it, they are entirely chaste. They are not per-
mitted to be otherwise. They are never allowed to be placed in a
position where they can be tempted, for they are always confined to
their residences.

<l. — I low is infidelity in the wife looked upon in China?

A. — It would be considered as a serious offense. With concubines
it would be quite a different thing. If with the consent of the man,
the concubine could do as she wished. Her offense would be in doing-
it without his consent.

Mr. Donovan — Then a man has one wife and a dozen concubines?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — These latter can do as they like and go where they please, but
it is an offense for the mother to be " irregular "?

A. — Yes, as I understand it ; they are his slaves and do his bidding.

Q. — Then a man could have his wife here and bring over a dozen
concubines and let them out for purposes of prostitution ?

A. — I suppose that there would be no domestic difficulties about it.

Q. — It would not be opposed to any moral ideas the Chinese have?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — The first effect of Chinese immigration would be to degrade
labor. What effect would it have on the manufacturing interests of

•22

the country, and the commercial interests, it' all the labor were per-
formed by Chinamen instead of by white men? Would it have the
effect of discouraging and preventing manufactures, and decreasing
the amount of wages paid the white men employed in manufactories?

A. — I have never been engaged in mercantile pursuits or manufac-
turing, but would so imagine. They would destroy some branches
of labor; but J understand that there are many branches of industry
which demand low-priced labor in order to be successfully carried
on. I have been informed that Chinese labor is necessary to carry
on some kinds of manufacturing business. The Chinese can do cer-
tain kinds of inferior work as well as anybody else, and being obtain-
able so much cheaper, are preferred, and arc even necessary.

Q. — If the Chinese were employed generally would the market for
productions not be necessarily destroyed, owing to the difference
between their wants and the wants of the white laborer displaced by
them?

A. — I would rather not answer that question, because I am so im-
perfectly advised.

Mr. Pierson — In other countries do the Chinese assimilate? Would
they intermarry and adapt themselves to the habits and customs of
the people ?

A. — 1 have known cases of that kind. The Governor of the Island
of Ternate, one of the East Indies, had married a Chinawoman. He
told me that he found her exceedingly attentive to all his wants, and
he rather liked it. They told me also that there were several cases
where the Dutch had married Chinese, and I was also told that it
was not a rare occurrence for the English girls to marry Chinamen,
but of that I have no information further than hearsay.

Mr. Lewis — Do you know anything about any inducements that
this people have, other than their own volition, for coming to this
country ?

A. — That, I do not know. I believe that they regard it as desirable to
come here — those who are laboring people. They have a different
idea of this country from what they have of most countries.

Q. — Do you know, from your own observation and experience, how
Chinamen, who have been here and returned to China, regard it?

A. — 1 am told that they speak more kindly of the Americans than
of any other nation.

Q. — Then the sentiment is a favorable one. and the inducement to
come here great ?

A. — I should say that up to the time of the recent agitation they
were more friendly disposed towards Americans than towards any
other nation.

Mr. Evans — Is not one of the greatest inducements the Avages they
get here — ten cents there and fifty and seventy-five cents hi

A. — Yes, sir. There is one other fact that occurs to me at this
moment: it is a fact that their treatment here has probably been
rather too good for their own interests. When they first came here
in considerable numbers, they never thought of getting into a street
car. hut would ride on the outside — either on the front or rear plat-
form. They did not feel themselves at liberty to sit on the inside.
especially in close contact with ladies and gentlemen. On my return
here, after an absence of several years of travel, I was greatly sur-
prised to find not only the increase in numbers, but to see the meat
change in their customs towards the white people. I daily find them

— those of the lowest class, and, sometimes, I fear, not clean — inside
the cars in close juxtaposition to ladies. On the streets, they are
more aggressive and more independent than they were some years
ago. I think, myself, that we are very much to blame, because there
arc men amongst lis who encourage them to "assert their rights," as
they call it, and make themselves of importance, and they are not
sii much to blame as these persons who have miseducated them.

Mr. Lewis — I lave yon discovered in China admiration for our insti-
tutions, or was it our wealth they admired?

A. — They have no knowledge of our institutions. They simply
want to come here to get money to take to China in order to be better
off than they otherwise would be.

Q. — You do not know of any of them speaking favorably of our
institutions ?

A. — I do not think they have any knowledge of them, or if they
have they believe that nothing can be compared to China and her
institutions.

Mr. Rogers — Did you hear any reason given why they are so anxious
to have their bones returned to China ?

A. — The Chinese are an exceedingly superstitious people, and they
have very extraordinary customs. During the lives of their parents,
they literally worship them. When they die, they believe that if they
do not take care of the remains of their parents and relatives they will
suffer in consequence of it. That is my understanding of- it. It is
entirely a religious matter, and that is done to please the spirits of
the departed. The bones are therefore taken back to their own
country and buried, that the spirits of the dead may be propitiated.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know anything about contracts that they
must go back, and if made with the government, company, or with
individuals?

A. — I do not, I presume that they must come here under such
contracts, as the bones are returned by the respective companies.
When these ( ninamen come here, they do so as perfect strangers, and,
being without means, would become lost were it not for the presence
of these companies or associations, which look after them. They are
taken care of as soon as they arrive, and are maintained until
employment is found for them.

Mr. Lewis — ho you know anything about< the inducements on the
part of the Chinese Government that led to this Burlingame treaty?

A. — I was here when Mr. Burlingame arrived, and it so happened
that 1 was in China when the treaty reached there. From Tien-tsin
there is no regular mail, and the Consul asked me to carry up the
mail for him. in that mail was the Burlingame treaty, and in one
of the newspapers which 1 took from here was a printed copy of the
treaty. They did not have any copy of the treaty except this news-
paper, and it was sought after. It immediately became the topic of
conversation in Pekin, and it was there a matter of surprise that it
had been made. It was understood that Burlingame did not have the
power to make the treaty. From that 1 infer,and I presume that the
inference is correct, that the Chinese Government did not make any
effort to get the treaty, and. for a time, did not know whether they
would confirm it or not, I got the impression that it was quite a
voluntary thing on the part of Mr. Burlingame.

Q. — What is your impression as to the effect the abrogation of
that treaty would have? Would you regard it as a public calamity?

A.— Not at all.

Mr. Evans — Suppose it were abrogated ; could it prevent immigra-
tion?

A. — Not unless some other steps were taken. 1 don't think fchey
came in consequence of the treaty. They were coming before the
treaty was made, just the same as now. 1 don't think that the abolition
of that treaty would change their coming in the least.

Mr. Lewis — Some people say that the abrogation of the Burlingarne
treaty wilHnjure our commercial relations." Don't you think that if
these relations are necessary they will go on, treaty or no treaty'/

A. — Decidedly.

Q, — You think that the passage of laws to prevent their coming
here would be unwise ?

A. — It can be accomplished in a friendly way, I think. What is
known as the Burlingarne treaty has had nothing to do with immi-
gration. It would have been just the same had the treaty never
been made. To abolish the treaty for the especial purpose of pre-
venting their coming here would not only not accomplish its object,
but would turn the Chinese against us. In that view such a step
would be impolitic. If there was a simple abrogation of the treaty
it would have no effect one way or the other. It is highly desirable
not to offend the Chinese Government. They are a numerous people,
and we have a good trade with them. I think that we can quietly
accomplish everything desired without offending them in the least.
We can accomplish much by asking them to prevent the emigration
of the lowest classes — the coolies. That is very likely the only
objectionable feature in this immigration. Tell them how it affects
us and I think they will act.

Mr. Haymond — Do you regard this whole immigration as coolie
immigration?

A. — The mass of it ; by no means the whole. There are a great
many Chinese who come to this country for the purpose of learning
the English language. That portion, however, is very small when
com i >ared with the great mass.

Mr. Lewis — Do you know whether their term of servitude extends
over all time, or is it to last only until a certain amount of money is
paid ?

A. — I do not know the details.

Mr. Donovan — Are there any Chinese shipped here from China
proper, or are they all shipped from Hong-kong?

A. — They must take the steamer at Hong-kong. There is no other
place where they can come from.

Q. — What is your belief as to the association or mixture of an infe-
rior and a superior race? What is the effect upon the superior?

A. — It tends to degrade that race.

Q. — Does it tend to elevate the inferior race?

A. — It is most likely that the inferior race would be benefited by
contact with the superior race.

(,). — Then the result, as you understand it, is, that contact with the
Chinese benefits them and deteriorates the race to which we belong?

A.— Mere contact of the two races would not necessarily deteriorate
the superior race, because the superior race will not allow that con-
tact to become too close.

Mr. Lewis — Do you know whether it is the law and custom of that
people to discourage any sort of improvement in China?

A. — It is habit. It is their education. They believe they have now
all knowledge, and will not countenance innovations. It amounts
to a law; it is custom. They believe the books of Confucius con-
tain everything, and having mastered them, there is nothing more to
learn.

Mr. Donovan — Then, while we benefit them, they will do us as much
injury, will they not?

A. — I am not aware of their having been of any great service, except
to persons desiring cheap labor. There are, of course, certain enter-
prises in this country that have been benefited by Chinese labor.

Mr. Haymond — Take it as a whole, what is the effect of Chinese
immigration upon the State'.'

A. — At the present time, I would hate to say that they produced
greater injury than benefit, but if continued to any considerable
extent it might injure our country.

Mr. Lewis — When we consider that there are four hundred million
of them, and their inducement in coming here is our money, would
not an immigration under such circumstances work serious injury
to American labor?

A. — -It seems to me that there is danger of it.

Committee adjourned until to-morrow, April twelfth, eighteen
hundred and seventy-six, at eleven o'clock a. m.

SECOND DAY.

San Francisco, April 12th, 1876.

Rev. Otis Gibson sworn.

Mr. Pierson — What is your profession?

A. — -A clergyman.

0. — How long have you been such?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty-four.

Q. — Have you ever resided in China?

A. — Ten years — from eighteen hundred and fifty-five to eighteen
hundred and sixty-five — at Foo-chow. It is one of the five ports open,
and is halfway between Canton and Shanghai. It is the largest sea-
port in China for the export of tea. It is about fifty or sixty miles
from Hong-kong.

Q, — Did you pursue your profession there?

A. — Yes, sir; I was a missionary to the Chinese of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.

Q. — Do you know anything of Chinese immigration?

A. — I have seen a great deal and heard a great deal of it.

Q. — From what part of China does most of the immigration come?

A. — These Chinese here are nearly all from the Canton province.
They come down the river, and are shipped from Hong-kong — a
British port.

Q. — How long has it been such ?

A.— Since the result of the opium war of eighteen hundred and
forty-four. It was a part of the settlement of that war.

Q. — Do you know' upon what terms the Chinese are imported into
this country?

A. — They come free. I think all Chinamen come free, except the
women. Many conic under some kind of an engagement. I have
ncvoi- scon engagements made: but constant intercourse with China-
men, and the knowledge I have of them here, leads me to believe
that Chinamen who are poor and wish to gel here, make a promise
with some one who will advance them enough money for passage, to
repay this money with a large percentage of interest. The advancing
party runs the risk of non-payment. 1 know one ease of a young
man in my school. Forty dollars was advanced him for passage,
and for this he had to return one hundred dollars. When < Ihinamen
come here in that way. they arc taken charge of by one of the six
companies, and kept until work is found for them. Sometimes they
have to keep them for three or four weeks. Sometimes these men
run away, and the company loses whatever was advanced.

Q. — Is there any sort of a contract by which service is pledged for
any specified time — during life, or until the money is repaid?

A. — 1 understand the contract to be, that they are under obligation
to pay this hack out of the first money they get, hut in an amount
double or treble the amount advanced for passage.

Q. — Do you know what means the Chinese companies have for
enforcing that sort of a contract?

A. — The Chinese companies at the present time, and since I have
been in this country, so far as I know, have no criminal power, and
do not exercise any. The six companies, so far as the people are
concerned, are arbiters. When they cannot arbitrate the case, they
go into our Courts. The six companies derive a large portion of
their power from the fact that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
will not sell tickets to Chinamen unless they have a permit from the
companies or from the missionaries. The price of a passage to
Hong-kong i.-. 1 think, forty dollars: hut the Chinamen can't get the
ticket unless he is a Christian, or has the stamp of the six companies.
That, 1 understand, is the extent of the power which, the companies
have over the Chinamen here. Some years ago, when there was
opposition between here and China, the fare was only twelve dollars.
Two men of my mission applied for tickets, but were refused, the
contract being, that unless they had the stamp of the six companies,
they must pay one hundred dollars. It was finally agreed that any
person having my name and belonging to my church could go for
the ordinary price.

Q. — So that even now a Chinaman who has not paid his debts to
the various companies cannot go back unless he is a Christian, or has
your sanction ?

A. — lie must have my name, or that of any one of the missionaries.
I suppose there are one thousand Chinamen in this country who
would return to-day if they could return on paying the passage money.

Mr. Lewis — What is the character of these companies — associations
of capital, for the purpose of making money, or for the protection of
( Ihinamen?

A. — It is very difficult to tell entirely what those six companies are.
When Chinamen leave home, and go to other countries, the first
thing they do is to form a guild, and build a temple. The temple is
the hall where they meet to talk over matters, arrange business mat-
ters, and settle differences and difficulties among themselves. They
are a meat people for arbitrating, and are extremely clannish. The
six guilds here are formed of men from different parts of < 'hina. As

I understand it, there is no contract with Chinamen who come here
to belong to a company; for many come by steamer who know
nothing of the companies until the interpreter meets them at the
steamer. He asks them from what place they come, and that fact
determines to what company they go. There is no initiation fee, and
no animal or stated installments to be paid. It is simply that when
he goes home he shall pay a fee. That is my understanding of it,

Q. — They arc societies, then ?

A. — They might be so called, but they are not political or doctrinal
societies. They elect officers, a President and Interpreter, yearly.

Mr. Pierson— What do you understand by the term "coolie"?

A. — That is a word brought to us from India, and it means a low
servant or laborer. The terms " coolie trade" were applied to the
importation of coolies into Cuba and South America. In China the
word "coolie" means the chair-bearers, the earth-diggers, the street-
cleaners, and hod-carriers, etc.

Q. — Not meaning servitude ?

A. — No, sir. Among the < Shinese, in their own country, there is no
such thing as slavery, according to our notions of slavery.

Q. — Is there any system of servitude whatever?

A. — There may be a system of binding a boy out for a term of
years ; nothing more.

Q. — Is there servitude for crime?

A.— There is punishment for crime, but I think there is no servi-
tude. I never heard of it. The women I do not include, for they are
bought and sold. Among the highest classes dowries pass, and that,
though real bargain and sale, is not called such. The poor folks sell
their girls outright.

Q. — From what class is our Chinese immigration?

A. — From the lowest class.

Q. — By that you mean laborer- ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you mean degraded in a moral sense?

A. — L think they are the lowest class of people. Most of the
Chinese who come to this country are ignorant — very. I do not
think there is one in five that can read a page of a book, and not one
in ten that can read a small tract, or book, or newspaper through
intelligently. Nearly all of them can read the signs over the stores;
nearly all can do that much reading, but to take a book and read it
they cannot do it.

Q,. — What is the average rate of wages in China?

A.— At Foo-chow, ten to twenty cents a day, when I went there.
When 1 came away, twenty to thirty cents, cash, a day. Common
laborers are hired by the month for four, five, and six dollars, board-
ing themselves.

Q. — Have you any means of knowing how many Chinamen there
are in San Francisco?

A. — 1 had a conversation with some of the officers of the six com-
panies about two months ago, just before this excitement occurred in
this city. They gave me the names on the books of each company,
and I judged that the number in the State was about one hundred
and fifty thousand, or rather that number on the coast. In this city
(San Francisco), thirty thousand. That is my approximation.

Q. — How many of those Chinamen have become Christians — Roman
Catholic as well as Protestant?

A.— I could not give you statistics of that, exactly. I don't know
what the statistics of the Roman Catholic Church are. They have
very few proselytes. We have a very healthy mission. There the
Chinese come, read the Christian literature, listen to ( 'hristian teach-
ing, and learn to renounce idolatry as they learn the English lan-
guage.

Q. — What do you suppose your converts amount to? Can you
approximate how many?

A. — I suppose that in this city there may be, in all, one hundred.
I do not know. There is this about it : they sometimes go to one
place and sometimes to another. If you take one hundred at Dr.
Stone's church and fifty at Dr. Lathrop's church, in those figures you
will count some twice. I can't tell the exact number here. Many
have been baptized and have gone to China as missionaries.

Mr. Lewis — What is your experience as to their sincerity?

A. — Just the same as among other people.

Mr. Pierson — Haven't they rather lax ideas on the subject of hon-
esty ?

A.— American merchants in China tell us that in mercantile
honesty they are equal to any other nationality. In San Francisco
it is good. I am not now speaking of the laborers, but of the mer-
chants.

Q— What are their habits of life in China, in regard to cleanliness?

A. — The Chinese are not a cleanly people. They are not what we
call a cleanly people.

Q. — How are they here?

A. — They 'are not cleanly here.

<,). — Do you know anything about their domestic life here?

A. — There is very little domestic life here : almost none at all.

Q. — Do the wives of the Chinamen come to this country?

A. — Very few. There may be one hundred. I doubt if there is
one hundred.

Q. — Are these of the higher classes?

A. — They are the richer ones.

Q. — What are their ideas of marriage in China? Are they limited
to one wife?

A. — No ; they are not limited to one wife. They can have as many
wives as they please. A man marries, if he is able, till he gets a boy.
If his first wife produces a boy, he don't care for more wives.

Q. — Do all the wives stand on an equal footing? Is one a wife,
and the rest concubines?

A. — They are married, and the children are all legitimate.

Q. — What is the relation of man and woman in China?

A. — They have an idea that the man is the head of the house.

Q, — Is the woman anything more than a slave to the man?

A.— I guess it is about the same in China as it is here. I once had
a Chinaman speak to me on that subject, He was an intelligent
man and an officer of the government, who has sent three or four
of his sons to America to be educated. He said : " Many Chinamen
laugh at you and the English people because women rule in your
country; but women rule in China, too. Women rule the world.
The Chinese women rule the same as in your country, only we have
the name of ruling them ; but we don't."

Q. — Have you any means of judging as to the proportionate number
of Chinamen engaged here in various occupations?

A.— I could not give it from memory. A year ago I employed a
Chinaman to gather for me statistics of how many were employed in
this city. I spent some time and money in it, as I thought of writing
a hook on the Chinese in America; but, like all good works, it was
not completed.

Q. — In your opinion, is this Chinese immigration productive of
more injury than benefit, or the contrary?

A. — That is a political question. The Chinese have brought some
evils; but 1 think, after careful study, that, as a matter of political
economy, they are a benefit; for there are more white people at work
in California to-day than there would have been, or could be, if the
< Ihinese were not here.

Q. — Suppose they were to increase in the same ratio during the
next ten years, what would be your opinion?

A. — Unless our existing laws are executed with more honesty than
they are now, I think it would be unfortunate. 1 think we have
sufficient law, if executed honestly, to check a great deal of it. That
has been my experience. I mingle with the Chinese in their quarters
a great deal, and 1 know that this Chinese gambling is simply a
matter of buying the privilege to violate the law. The same is true
regarding the women. There is a percentage of the profits that goes
to persons other than the Chinese, for the purpose of carrying on
prostitution.

Q. — Is prostitution in China regarded with the same idea of
degradation that it is in this country, or is it a sort of profession by
itself?

A. — The standard of morals in China is different from what it is
here, for the civilization is lower. I think there is as much chastity
among the Chinese as a people, as among our people. Among the
people who have families it is a great crime for a woman to betray
her chastity to a man, and family chastity is a great virtue in China.
Prostitution there is regarded the same as it is here. In the cities
where they live, they have separate quarters, and are not allowed to
go anywhere else. They are under quite as strict, or perhaps stricter,
regulations there than they are here.

Q. — Have you been with the Chinese ever since you resided in this
State ?

A. — I have been a missionary on this coast since eighteen hundred
and sixty-eight.

Q. — Do you go into their houses to any extent ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What is their mode of life ? Take the Globe Hotel, on Jackson
and Dupont Streets.

A. — I have not been there very much. There were three or four
gambling places there, and a great many Chinamen used it to bunk
in. It is like camp life in a mining town or the lumbering regions?

Q. — Do they board and lodge in the same house?

A. — They, perhaps, merely lodge there, and eat in the eating-houses.
The rooms are of different sizes. These men who own these build-
ings, and rent them to the Chinese, divide them up into rooms, some
eight by twelve, some ten by fourteen, some six by ten, etc. In rooms
of that kind four or five men sleep ; for they spend a great deal of
money for opium, in gambling, and at brothels, and are forced to live
as cheaply as possible.

Mr. Haymond — What do you understand by coolie?

A. — A common laborer.

Q. — At the time of the making of the Burlingame treaty, how was
that term understood in China ?

A. — Contract labor. About that time, what was known as coolie
importation was taking place to South America and. Cuba. Those
men were induced to come to the ports on certain promises,and they
were kept in large halls there, called barracoons. They contracted
to serve a certain number of years for a certain price, at the end of
which time they were to get their liberty. The contracts, however,
were not kept, and many failed to get five. As a result, the Chinese
Government sent a Commission to look after them.

Q, — It means, then, the importation of common laborers?

A. — Yes, sir. That is, however, not practiced in China now. I think.

(,). — This immigration to California is about the same thing, is it
not, only under private auspices instead of the government?

A. — I think not.

Q, — It is of common laborers?

A. — Yes; but they come of their own desire.

Q, — They are coolies?

A. — They are common laborers. They come of their own free will.
As I said before, they make arrangements with some person who has
capital to pay for their passage, they agreeing to return the money
with interest — double or treble the amount advanced.

Q. — It is that class you call coolies?

A. — No, sir. I would never use that word as it is used in our
country. I do not understand that these people are here in servitude
— are slaves. I do not use the word "coolie" in that sense. If you
ask me what the Chinese here are, I would say that the most of them
are common laborers. The word '"coolie" is not a Chinese word.
It is an Indian word, which was introduced there.

Q. — What is the meaning of the word in India?

A. — A sort of low laborer. In Ilindostan or India, it is a common
or low T laborer.

Q. — You do not know of any country, except California, where
they use the words "coolie" and "slave" as synonymous Y

A. — No, sir. It simply means the lower ela^s of laboring people.
A man understanding the meaning of the word will never use it in
the sense of a slave. In China, there is the chair coolie, who carries
your chair for five or ten dollars a month, the house coolie, etc.

Mr. Evans — Can you give us any information about the number of
American citizens living in that country ?

A. — It is ten years since I came away. At that time there was a
large American settlement at Shanghai, probably more than at any
other port in China, outside of Hong-kong. Also, in Canton, Amoy,
Swatow, Pekin. and such places. I suppose there were four or five
hundred in Shanghai, and one thousand in each of the other place-.

Q. — Was the number increasing or decreasing?

A. — Increasing, but not so rapidly as the Chinese do here. Speak-
ing approximately, I should say there are five or six thousand Ameri-
cans residing in China. If you include persons on board ships in
the ports and harbors, 1 should say from ten thousand to fifteen
thousand.

Mr. Pierson — Have you any means of judging as to the number of
Chinese coming under contract to work, and the number coming free
from it ?

A. — No, sir. I don't think, however, that all conic under contract.
Take a family of four or five boys and an old man. They hear stories
about this country, and the ease with which money is made fast.
They get their earnings together and semi one of the boys. He comes
here and sends money back as fast as he can send it. I think half
the people come in that way. It is only when large firms go to the
companies to get laborers that they are imported, the companies find-
ing they can make more by importing now and advancing the pas-
sage money than they can otherwise. It is only in such a case that
tic companies send to China for men.

(,). — Did you ever read the Burlingame treaty?

A. — Yes, sir; but not lately.

Q. — Tlie term "coolie" is used in that treaty. In what sense'.-' Is
that term used as you use it?

A. — is that in the treaty?

<>>. — Yes. The importation of coolies is prohibited.

A.— I think it is used, then, in the sense of servitude. It was caused.
probably, by this barracoon system, where the people were used as
slaves.

Mr. Haymond — These coolies were allot the lower working classes?

A. — Mostly; not altogether. A few men were induced to go on
board ships at the last moment — merchants and business men — and
carried away. The word " coolie " in the treaty probably refers to
them.

(I. — Burlingame lived at court a long time. What would have
been his understanding — the same as yours?

A. — I should think so, but I don't know r . I would use the word in
no other sense than as relating to the laboring classes. The coolie
trade was caused by a professed demand for laborers in Cuba and
South America. The Chinese went there under contract, but these
contracts were violated, and the men enslaved. Men were stolen in
China by these traders, assisted by Chinamen wdiom they employed.
They took these stolen men to the barracoons, and kept them there
until they could be shipped off. That is the coolie trade.

Mr. Donovan — Are not these Pacific Mail Steamship Companies
now actually engaged in this coolie trade?

A. — No, sir. I would not think that could be said. You might say
that they are engaged in coolie immigration, with the definition of
common laborers given, but not in the coolie trade ; not in its offen-
sive sense. They are only interested in the passage money.

Mr. Lewis — These companies pay the expenses of the men that
come here. Is that at the instance and expense of the companies, or
the persons themselves?

A. — I suppose the men pay it back. I do not believe that the six
companies import a man here. I have had a great deal of study to
find out what the six companies are. Last year I had a very intelli-
gent Chinaman teaching. He was a literary man. and is now
President of one of the companies. Through him and some others
I learned little by little, and I am satisfied that the six companies, as
such, do not import a man. When a firm wants to employ a large
number of Chinese, say one thousand, the manager goes to one of the
companies, tells them he wants so many men and agrees to pay a
certain price. If the company think they can do better by sending
to China, they do so, and induce men to come out.

Q. — Have Americans anything to do with the affairs of these com-
panies?

A. — I think not. The six companies do a great deal in the way of
settling cases. Some time ago one of my school boys came to me, and
said that he wanted I should settle a case in the Courts, imagining I
had great power with our Courts. He said that he and his com-
panions had had fishing grounds near Redwood City for three years.
Last year some men belonging to another company went down, and
took a part of the ground. They had had a quarrel, and the ease was
in the Courts at Redwood City. After proof was heard, the original
parties were sustained. On an appeal the ease was reversed, and the
Chinaman seemed to think that the American Courts were strange
things. They first decide a thing to be right,and then wrong. They
came to San Francisco, and called the six companies together to settle
this thing. They met, and compromised the affair, each company
putting its stamp to the compromise, except one company, and that
the one to which the other parties belonged. Here was a difficulty,
and they appealed to me to write to the Judge of the Court to toll
him that they were right and the others wrong.

Q. — in China, is it considered a greater offense to take the life of a
man than it is to take that of a woman ?

A. — The general sentiment of the Chinese people is that the man
is the more important animal. I don't know whether, when you
come to the murder of a woman, they would make a distinction.

Mr. Haymond — How does it conic that these six companies exercise
anv control over these people in the matter of settling their difficul-
ties?

A. — That is very natural. Although their interpretations of justice
are sometimes a little irregular, yet. when they consider the delays
and uncertainties of our Courts, they prefer to compromise where
they can.

Q. — How would a compromise judgment he enforced ? In the case
you mentioned, it appears that the judgment could not he carried out
because one company refused to assent. Where the company refuses
this concurrence, what is done?

A.— It is left with the men for settlement.

Q. — Do you know of any eases of resistance to the orders of the
six companies?

A. — I have never heard of any case where there was any resistance.
They have some way of carrying them into effect, but how, 1 can't say.

Q.— Don't they pretend to divide this city into districts, and farm
out the washing, for instance, to those people?

A. — I do not understand that the six companies have anything to
do with that. It is the Washing Guild, composed of men belonging
to the washing business.

Q. — Are their orders enforced by punishment upon violation of
orders ?

A. — I don't know. I think there is something of that kind.

Q. — Do the six companies levy taxes?

A. — I do not know. I think they have sometimes undertaken to
do that, but it is all voluntary. They cannot get anything except
the men are willing to give it, The Hop-wo Company undertook to
build a temple on Clay Street, and the money was raised by subscrip-
tion. Most of the Chinamen would give four bits to have their names
on the temple.

Q. — What is your knowledge of their compromising criminal cases
— interfering with the administration of criminal .justice?

A. — I have no knowledge on that point. They are exceedingly
clannish, and if a man of one clan kills a man of another clan, each
man will do all he can for his own elan.

(,). — Has not money often been paid to withdraw prosecutions?

A. — I believe so

0. — Is it not a well-settled matter that a great many people are
held in slavery here — bought and sold ?

A. — Only the women. J don't think there is a man so held. The
women, as a general thing, are slaves. They are bought or stolen in
China and brought here. They have a sort of agreement, to cover
up the slavery business, but it is all a sham. That paper makes the
girl say that she owes you four hundred dollars or so, passage money
and outfit from China, and has nothing to pay. I being the girl, this
man comes up and offers to lend me the money to pay you if 1 will
agree to serve him, to prostitute my body at his pleasure, wherever
he shall put me, for four, live, or six years. For that promise of mine,
made <>n the paper, he hands him the four hundred dollars, and I
pay the debt I owe you according to contract. It is also put in the
contract that if I am sick fifteen days no account shall be taken of
that, but if I am sick more than that, I shall make up double. If I
am found to be pregnant within a month, you shall return the money
and take me again. If I prove to have epilepsy, leprosy, or am a
stone woman, the same thing is done.

Q. — Are these contracts regarded as moral among the people who
make them ?

A. — Well, there is a certain class of knaves among Chinamen who
have no morals at all.

Q.— These contracts are sustained by the great mass of Chinamen
here, are they not?

A. — I think there is in existence now — there lias been — a company
of men engaged in this traffic of women; not the six companies,
but a guild like the Washing Company. They have their rules and
their regulations, and they stand by each other. One of those com-
panies is called the Hip-ye-tong. When a Chinaman runs away
with a woman from one of these brothels and marries her, he is
followed by these companies, and asked to pay them her value, or
look out for the consequences. It is a common thing for them to use
the processes of our Courts to protect their interests — their assumed
rights. If a woman escapes from a brothel, she is arrested for some
crime, and possession is obtained in that way. Where she marries,
the chances are that both man and woman will be arrested, or the man
will be arrested and the woman run off' to some other place. Some-
times Chinese come to me to get married. I don't care to marry them,
and, to discourage it, have set my price at ten dollars, whereas the
Justices' fees are only two dollars. They seem to have a sort of in-
definite and unreasonable idea of protection when they come to me.

Mr. Pierson — You used the terms " stone woman." What do you
understand by that?

A. — I did not know, and asked them. They said it was a woman
so naturally disabled, that a man could not have any intercourse
with her.

Mr. Haymond — Then, so far as the women are concerned, they are

in slavery, with more hard features than have been known to white
races ?

A. — Yes, sir. And even after the term of prostitution service is
up, the owners so manage as to have the women in debt more than
ever, so that their slavery becomes life-long. There is no release
from it.

Q. — When these people become sick and helpless, what becomes
of tl leu i ?

A. — They are left to die.

Q. — No care taken of them ?

A.— Sometimes, where the women have friends.

Q. — Don't the companies take care of them ?

A. — Not frequently.

Q. — Is it not a frequent thing that they arc put out on the sidewalk
to die, or in some room without water or food?

A. — 1 have heard of such things. 1 don't know. I don't think
they are kind ; I think they are very unkind to the sick. Sometimes
the women take opium to kill themselves. They do not know they
have any rights, but think they must keep their contracts, and
believe themselves under obligations to serve in prostitution.

Q. — What is their treatment? Is it harsh ?

A. — They have come to the asylum all bruises. They are beaten
and punished cruelly if they fail to make money. When they
become worn out and unable to make any more money, they are
turned out to die. A portion of the profits arising from this business
goes to the Chinese, and a portion to men not Chinese. There is col-
lected for each woman imported as a prostitute, forty dollars. Of
that, ten dollars goes to white men. Twenty-five cents a week or
month — I forget which — is levied on each woman, and part of this
goes to these white men. Gambling-houses pay five dollars a week
to certain policemen for the privilege of keeping them open. Last
year thirteen dollars a month were given to some party around the
( !ity Hall. I am under bonds of secrecy, and cannot give the names
of my informants.

0. — If Chinese prostitution should be stopped in tins city and in
the State, would there be any use or employment for these women?

A. — I think most of the women would get married according to
the American law, and live with the ( 'hinese.

Mr. Donovan — \^ it possible that the Chinese are so degraded, that
they would marry this class of people?

A. — Very few of the Chinamen here are married. In China the
rule is that all respectable women shall be married ; but a large class
of men are not married. In some provinces there is a system of
infanticide of girls, particularly among the poorer classes, and women
become scarce. I have seen proclamations in Chinafrom the author-
ities, against infanticide, because there were not enough women for
wives for the men.

Mr. Rogers — 1 would like to have you give us your experience as a
missionary with this people?

A. — Our success with this people has been slow. They begin by-
going to school, and we gradually teach them to have a disgust for
idolatry. That is the first point to be reached. During my labors I
have baptized thirty-five or thirty-six persons.

Q. — In how many years ?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and seventy-one. properly speaking.

I was here some years before, but was lecturing up and down the
coast.

(,). — What is the Chinese religion?

A. — Idolatry. All the Chinese are Confucians, but that is no relig-
ion. They are very much attached to their faith. Confucius docs
not teach religion ; it is more of a system of state politics.

Mr. Donovan — Are these Chinamen affected with syphilitic diseases
before or after coming here ?

A. — 1 suppose they must hi — especially the women.

(,). — Don't they keep houses open for the accommodation of boys
who are willing to go there?

A. — I think there is a good deal of that. I am told that white boys
are accommodated cheaper than Chinamen.

Charles Wolcott Brooks sworn.

Mr. Haymond — You have heard the testimonv of Mr. Gibson?

A.— 1 have.

Q. — In your own language, go over the ground and tell us what
you know of the subject under investigation?

A. — I first went out to Asia in eighteen hundred and fifty-one, I
have been there several times, and have seen a great deal of the
country, and have given the subject some thought.

Q. — How long were you in China?

A. — Different times; I never staid there any great length of time.
1 suppose I have been all through Asia — perhaps was in China two
years altogether. I have been there five or six times.

(,). — Have you occupied any official positions at any of those
times?

A. — Yes, sir; in the Japanese Government. I was agent of the
Japanese Government at this city; about sixteen years Japanese Con-
sul here. I was a diplomatic attache of the Japanese Embassy that
went around the world. I have prepared some notes of what I desire
to state, and will tell what I know by referring to them. Our first
treaty with China was made by Mr. Reed in eighteen hundred and
fifty-eight. Subsequently Mr. Burlingame, in Washington, then acting
as Ambassador for China, made a supplemental treaty. That was,
supplemental articles of agreement relating to specific things. They
became thereby a part of the original treaty, so the Burlingame treaty
is not a separate treaty at all. but merely an addenda to the original
Heed treaty of eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. The abrogation of
one part would work an abrogation of the whole. Most of the priv-
ileges that Americans enjoy in China are not derived so much from
the specifications of the treaty as from the "favored nation *" clause
of the treaty. This clause is to the effect that the power making the
treaty shall be entitled to all the privileges enjoyed by any nation
having a more favorable treaty with China. If you were to abrogate
that treaty entirely you would still be governed in your relations
with China by international law. By so doing, therefore, nothing
would be gained, while our citizens would lose their protection which
they now enjoy in China. The Federal Government would then
have the power to prevent immigration altogether, but the abrogation
of our treaty would effect nothing.

Q. — The treaty opens only six ports to Americans, while all of the
United States is open to Chinamen ?

A. — That is a mistake. Americans have access to all parts of China

— they go anywhere they please. We gel privileges not mentioned in
the Burlingame treaty, by virtue of the "most favored nation" pro-
vision, and we have to examine all those treaties to know exactly to
what we arc entitled. Americans in China are under the rule of the
American Consul. _ They wander around the country at will, and in
case of their breaking a law they are tried by their Consul, and not
by the Chinese authorities. The Burlingame treaty provides for
trade; then the right to appoint Consuls — Chinese Consuls in Amer-
ica, and American Consuls in China; then the agreement on both
sides to respect liberty of conscience; next, prohibiting the coolie
trade.

Q. — What was understood bythe coolie trade at that time in ( Jhina?

A. — Merely a laborer. In eighteen hundred and fifty-one 1 studied
Sanscrit, so that I spoke it. The word '•coolie"' is an old Sanscrit
word, and means, in India, a laborer. The word " walla" refers to the
next highest grade ; then " baboo," which means the business man.
The meaning of the word "'coolie " is the same in China as in India.
In the Burlingame treaty it refers to the coolie trade — a trade in
labor — the common laborers. The importation of Chinese here would
literally come within that definition, though I think this different
from the coolie trade as contemplated in the treaty.

Mr. Donovan — If this is the coolie trade, then the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company is engaged in it, is it not?

A. — Yes, applying that definition in that manner. They are really
engaged in bringing here coolie labor, but whether in the sense of a
coolie trade or not I cannot tell.

Mr. Raymond — Is not this the way it is done : A, a laborer, contracts
with B, a contractor, to pay his passage to some foreign country,
agreeing to work there a certain number of years for a certain sum
of mone\ 7 ? That is the coolie trade which is prohibited by the Bur-
lingame treaty, is it not?

A. — Yes. I think any contract labor would be forbidden by it. It
was the abuse of that trade, however, which called the attention of
the civilized world to it, and demanded its prohibition. Instead of
making or keeping such contracts, the contractors violated them, and
the coolies were subjected to all the horrors of the slave trade.

Mr. Pierson — Is it not a fact that Americans in ( !hina will not leave
the ports to go into the interior without first securing a permit from
their Consul for their protection ?

A. — It is customary to get permits. I don't know that they would
be traveling entirely at their own risk ; but I would take every pre-
caution. A permit of that kind is a sort of security, and they are
used in different parts of Europe by travelers. Some time ago 1
made inquiries among some of the leading Chinese houses as to the
amount of money Chinamen living here send back home; and I was
told that those who send back any, send back, on an average, about
thirty dollars a year. Some of them do not send back any money at
all. A few send more than that; but thirty dollars is considered a
very good sum to send in a year. The Chinese generally return to
China in five years. Their average stay here is five years. In regard
to correcting this coolie business — this contract labor business — I
think it is the duty of the American Consul at Hong-kong to question
these people. The law provides — British and American — that, when
the people are ready for shipment, the Consul shall ask them certain
questions — whether they go voluntarily or not. He must ascertain

if there is any contract to labor; and if there is, he must forbid their
coming. If they are all right, lie grants clearance-papers to the
steamer. I think the steamer folks are not to blame. I think the
onus of the whole thing lies with the American Consul at Hong-
kong. " By emigration regulations in force at the colony of Hong-
kong, all laborers under contract to labor abroad must, before leaving,
have their contracts read or translated to them personally and alone,
and their distinct assent obtained, fourteen days before they can
legally embark. After a fortnight, it is again read to them by an
emigration officer, and inquiry made if they have changed their
minds. If still anxious to go, they are sent on shipboard, where
they are offered by the Consul a last opportunity of withdrawing,
who certifies that they executed their contracts voluntarily; and
thus having, after reflection, thrice publicly reaffirmed the fact, they
clear legally from Hong-kong." [Witness reads from article in
On, Until Monthly, written by himself.] They have a right to make
contracts, but it must be of their own free will. Then the Consul,
having certified to the fact, grants a clearance to the ship. Where
there is fraud it is the duty of the American Consul to put a stop to
it. and he can do it if he does his duty.

Q. — Who is the American Consul at Hong-kong?

A. — Mr. Bailey. His predecessor was Mr. Allen.

Mr. Haymond — Suppose the Consul desired, in good faith, to make
inquiries, and these people were brought there under duress — would
not some influence there prevent them from disclosing the truth.?

A. — I think it is as Dr. Williams says — what is needed in American
foreign diplomatic service is educated interpreters or officers, with
some kind of an understanding of their language, who can go
among the people and explain to them their rights. Our Consuls are
appointed from Iowa, Wisconsin, etc., and the first thing they do is
to read about China. Then they go there, and hire a ( Ihinese clerk,
on whom they are entirely dependent.

Q. — There are thirty thousand Chinese in San Francisco, and yet,
with the best interpreters, we cannot get at the truth.

A. — We have very few interpreters. Gibson is one of the best.
They are more afraid here than they are in China, to tell the truth.

Q. — Why is there such a fear here — because they have their own
system of punishments?

A. — I suppose they have, although I really know nothing about it.

Q. — That is the opinion among intelligent people — that truth can-
not be ascertained because they themselves administer punishments
if anybody acts otherwise than in accordance with the will of some
governing power ?

A, — That is, I think so. One of the great difficulties is the organ-
ization of a foreign hostile force within the territory of the United
.States. It is a very difficult thing, however, to tell how you are
going to administer justice when Chinese tribunals of that kind
exist, It is practically impossible. The Chinese are very deceitful,
and that very deceit is an indication of a weaker race. A weak man
makes up in lying what he lacks in strength They feel that weak-
ness, and they conceal it by strategy and deceit.

Mr. Pierson — Do you know anything about the organization of
these six companies?

A. — Yes, sir. A few words, however, upon immigration : The
United States, of course, goes with Great Britain to a certain extent,

but the policy of Great Britain is different from ours. Her policy is

an aggressive policy. She desires to find places to send her people
to ; she wants to get possession of territory, so she sends her emigra-
tion everywhere. The United States invites immigration. She wants
to settle up her waste lands. The policies of the two governments
arc quite different. In regard to whether the ( Ihinese coming to this
country are a greater benefit or a greater detriment, I will say this :
San Francisco is already, by internal revenue returns, the ninth
manufacturing city of the United States. No doubt a portion of this
prosperity is due to Chinese labor, and it is very probable that a
larger number of white people find employment from the presence
of the Chinese. A certain amount, therefore, may be good, but a
larger amount will be bad. The Chinese are bad for us, because
they do not assimilate and cannot assimilate with our people. They
are a race that cannot mix with other races, and we don't wish them
to. The ('liinese are bad for us, because they come here without
their families. Families are the centers of all that is elevating in
mankind, yet here we have a very large Chinese male population.
The Chinese females that are here make this element more dangerous
still.

Mr. Haymond — I believe the term " hoodlum " belongs here ?

A. — I think it ts a local word.

Q. — Might it not be that boys in this country are out of employ-
ment because the Chinese work in the lighter trades?

A. — I have thought a good deal about that.

Q. — If the channels are alreadv filled up with other labor, how is
that?

A. — We look upon the Chinese as an inferior race, and in the great
race of life mind wins. We could use them to do our inferior work.

<,). — They do the light work — the work that in other countries falls
to the women and the boys, and fill up the channels that would other-
wise be open to our boys?

A. — It may be.

Q. — It is the only white city in the world where they have ( Ihinese
in any numbers, and coming from the lower working classes, as they
do, they necessarily degrade labor and debase the moral standard —
injure the community, in many ways, do they not?

A. — That is undoubtedly true. There are, however, more whites
employed here because of their presence here. If white labor were
employed in making cigars we would have to send to Manilla for our
cigars. If they did not make shoes Ave would have to send to Lynn.
I was asked this morning to what I attributed the presence of hood-
lums. I think it is owing as much to the lack of enterprise as to the
want of honest labor. Our cities are filled with persons desiring to
follow city callings. It comes from laziness, and a low moral stand-
ard. In regard to this subject of Chinese immigration, it should be
taken hold of and settled in a statesmanlike manner. There is no
doubt great abuses exist among our people in the administration of
our laws. I believe that our laws are enough to check this immigra-
tion if they are honestly and faithfully administered. Outside of
that, this matter of Chinese immigration is regulated by the law of
supply and demand. As soon as they find out that their coming is
unprofitable, they will cease to come. Their filth, and vice, and
degradation can, in a great measure, be done away with, and it is
hoped the labors of this committee will be successful in that direction.

Experience shows that the average gain of Chinese is about four
thousand a year. A large portion come here at this season, and a,
large number return home in the fall ; but as the demand keeps con-
stantly increasing, the supply also must be kepi up,leaving us a gain
of four thousand a year about. About fourteen thousand arrive
every year, and ten thousand go back. Each man remains about five
years. I do not think thereareover sixty-seven thousand Chinamen
here and they all come from Canton. We get only the lowest class
of laborers here, because we get those without money. A man who
has one hundred dollars we can't get. In China three hundred dol-
lars is a competence, and the interest upon that will support a family
comfortably, according to their idea of comfort, In regard to immi-
gration, the Chinamen who come to this country, all come from the
British port of Hong-kong, which is as much a part of Great Britain
as is the Isle of Wight. The British statistics show that there are
one hundred and seventy-five thousand Chinamen in the colony of
Hong-kong, and nothing could prevent their coming to California
except you destroy the demand for them here. We might end our
relations with China, in the hope of stopping Chinese immigration,
but there is nothing to prevent the Chinamen from acquiring a resi-
dence in Hong-kong, and that being a British colony, we could not
stop immigration except by an understanding with Great Britain. 1
think we have sufficient law here to govern this whole thing, if it is
only faithfully executed. If we can avoid a rupture with China, and
complications with Great Britain, we had better do it, I believe
somewhat with Herbert Spencer in relation to the survival of the
fittest, In their own country they have developed into a lower order
of the races. China is so surrounded by a barrier of mountains on
all sides as to shut out improvement, The population have been
isolated from all Asia, and for two hundred or three hundred years
China lias gone backwards. The opening of her trading ports was
against her wish, yet, at the same time, it was giving her light,
While our missionaries have done little indeed, they have taught the
Chinese reading and writing, and some principles of philosophy.
They have seen the steam-engine, the electric telegraph, steamships,
etc., and have become convinced, in a measure, how immensely
behind the rest of the world they are in knowledge. The Chinese
are in about the same condition now that Europe was in the eleventh
century, and they are coming up very slowly. Their standard of
morals, of course, is much lower than ours.

Q. — What is the nature of their central government ?

A. — It is a very weak government, indeed. It is composed of about
seventeen provinces; but the Governors of those provinces are pretty
nearly absolute in their districts. A certain amount of deference is
paid to the general government, and by foreign powers it is held
responsible for all damages resulting to foreign citizens. These
provinces are practically independent of each other and of the
central government. The rulers are appointed after a competitive
examination in the Chinese classics; that is, the works of Confucius.

Q. — If the people come from Canton to California, and these other
sixteen provinces have little interest in the question, nothing we
would do here would affect our standing with them, would it?

A. — Not a particle. Canton is a southern province; and my
impression is, that the men there are more lazy than they are else-
where. It is a most undesirable class of the population.

Q. — What wages do workingmen receive there?

A. — When I was there the rate was about live or six dollars a
month.

Mr. Evans — Do you know the area of the Island of Hong-kong?

A. — It is about, I should think, five miles across; and oblong, ten
or twelve miles in length.

Q. — Barren or productive?

A. — It runs up to a peak, and is pretty steep. It is a rock rising
up out of the sea, and is rather barren.

Q. — What is the population?

A. — I should say one hundred and seventy-five thousand — a little
more, perhaps, and mostly Chinese. There maybe three thousand
others.

Mr. Haymond — Assuming that this central Chinese Government
amounts to little, and that there are sixteen or seventeen independent
provinces; that this immigration is from Canton, and from there
alone — any action here regarding the Chinese would not affect our
commercial relations or intercourse with other parts of the country,
would it?

A. — No, sir.

Mr. Donovan — Have we any intercourse with China, other than
through Hong-kong?

A. — Yes, sir; there are Foo-chow, Amoy, Shanghai, and other
ports. Then going up the Yang-tse-kiang River, Americans are
numerous there.

Mr. Pierson — At what do you estimate the American population
of China?

A. — There is a large floating population in < Ihina on account of the
had climate. There are American firms which have been there for
ten or twenty years. Partners come in and go out. They don't remain
there a lifetime. The resident American population must be two or
three thousand. The Chinese have lately commenced many improve-
ments. They had commenced building a railroad, and were encour-
aging the construction of telegraph lines, and employing a great
many Americans in that way.

Mr. Haymond — Your theory, then, is that we can leave China out
of the question, except so far as the Province of Canton is concerned?

A. — Yes; except as it is part of the wdiole. It is so disconnected,
however, that it would not be like striking a British province. The
United Slates, I suppose, would take notice of any damage done to
any State, and China would do the same. There is not so close a
sympathy between China and her States that there is between our
States and the general government: yet, at the same time, there is
an equal political bond.

Mr. Donovan — Are not most of the lepers, and persons afflicted
with elephantiasis and these other diseases, inhabitants of Canton —
are they not as numerous there as in any other part of China?

A. — I should suppose so, for the reason that they are mostly found
in southern countries and lowlands. That being a southern prov-
ince, we would he more likely to import diseased persons from there
than from any other source. I have not, however, seen a great deal
of elephantiasis in China; 1 have in India, on the Ganges, and low
lands.

Mr. Haymond — How will the ( !hinese compare with the wdiite races
in morals? Take the Province of Canton?

A. — I would say that they are all about in the condition that
Europe was in the eighth, tenth, or twelfth centuries — in the dark
ages, when the morals were very low, indeed. I think, perhaps, that
the families are as chaste as we are; hut around the sea-port towns
there is a floating or boat population, which is very had, and it is
from this class that we draw our immigration. The architecture of
China is very rude, and far inferior to that of nations of the past,
As regards magnitude, they have some large buildings* but the
quality and style of the work is poor. A large portion of the people
in China live on rice principally. Many around the sea-port towns
are in the boats nil the time. They are born there, and die there.
This is the lowest order of the people, 'then further from the shore
arc farmers who till the soil. They are a superior class. Going back
into the mountains of China, you find the Maories, which are a
better class still — an entirely different class of men. There is a
peculiar kind of exclusiveness about the Chinese in the interior,
which makes it difficult to reach them for the purpose of introducing
changes of any sort.

Q. — -How does the condition of the Chinese in this city compare
with that of the Chinese at home?

A. — I have been very little in the Chinese quarters here, but I
know it is filthy, indeed, and that they are very much overcrowded.
They live in a filthy condition here, and in a filthy condition at
home, in their own districts. The buildings here are crowded pretty
much as they are at home. Buildings once occupied by Chinese are
unfit for white occupation, but real estate dealers obtain from them
double and treble the rent they receive from the whites. The streets
— the business streets — are in a passable condition, probably because
the Chinese are compelled to keep them clean by the municipal
authorities. The alleys are terribly filthy. Ladies would not care to
go on those streets or look into those alleys. I think there is a class
of outlaws among the Chinese population here, who give us a great
deal of trouble. There are also, as in every community, a great
many good men who are made to suffer for the doings of the evil.
Among our people, if John Brown does wrong, he suffers as an indi-
vidual, but if a Chinaman does wrong, the whole race suffers for the
act of the individual.

Q. — Are there any Chinese families in this city?

A. — I think not any to speak of?

Q. — Are there one hundred Chinese families in this city?

A. — That would be a large number, I should think.

Q. — Have you any idea of the number of Chinese women?

A. — No, sir; I have not.

Q. — What is the condition of these women?

A. — I don't know. 1 imagine it is very bad, indeed. I think that
the principal or only remedy to be applied to that evil are stringent
municipal regulations, thoroughly enforced.

Q. — -That would be a remedy for those things, but would it be a
remedy for the injuries which that race inflicts upon the race with
which they compete?

A. — I think that would prevent the influx of the vicious class. If
we were to make them live as Americans, I think Ave would very
soon have no Chinese here. For instance, make men have fifteen or
sixteen-feet rooms to sleep in, each, and compel the observance of
sanitary regulations, and they could not afford to work for the wages

they n<>w receive. If they are forced to demand more pay, employers
will not employ them.

Mr. Pierson — Have yon observed any change in the character of
the Chinese for the last ten or fifteen years — have they become more
aggressive, more independent, more apt to assert their rights, as they
term it?

A. — I think that is caused by the fact that a great many misguided
Americans put them up to it.

Q. — Do you think that they have any particular love for our insti-
tutions ?

A. — I don't think they have any at all. They come purely as a
matter of gain — as a matter of dollars and cents. If it is profitable,
they will come. If it is not profitable, they will not come. The
very fact of their retaining their own dress and customs, and keeping
themselves so entirely separate, as a people, shows that tbey have
not. Contrast them with the Japanese. The Japanese who go abroad
are persons who have money to spend, and they go for pleasure and
information. They adopt the manners and customs of Americans.
Our dress and our language they seek. The Chinese come abroad,
not to spend, but to accumulate. They maintain their own customs
and language. The Japanese like our institutions. The Chinese do
not, but hate us most cordially, and hate the Japanese more than
any other people — a hate which is as cordially returned by the Japan-
ese. There is nothing in common between them. In eighteen hun-
dred and forty-two, the population of China was four hundred and
thirteen million two hundred and sixty-seven thousand and thirty.
That is the latest census that I have any account of.

Q. — Is the population increasing or decreasing?

A. — I think it has been decreasing lately, caused, in a great meas-
ure, by the scarcity of women. They drown their females as we drown
kittens. Opium has been a great influence in that direction, also.
They import into China ten thousand five hundred tons a year, and
the native growth is as much again. The importation was com-
menced by England, in payment for teas. To pay for the tea taken
to England required a vast amount of silver, and the British Gov-
ernment viewed, with a great deal of uneasiness, the drainage of her
country of forty million dollars or fifty million dollars a year. She
forced them to take in payment opium, raised in India, and they
soon learned to use this drug, until now it is a universal thing.
Opium smoking in China is looked upon as a vice, just as drinking
is in the United States, but the people have acquired the habit, and
they cannot abandon it.

Mr. Raymond — Is the killing of female children a universal prac-
tice?

A. — It is among the lower classes. Nothing is thought of drowning
a female child. It is rather like drowning kittens, when we have
more than we want, The result is, there is a great preponderance of
men, and the population cannot increase as rapidly as it otherwise
would.

Q. — Japan is a young, growing country?

A. — Yes, sir. Compared with China, it is like comparing a young,
growing nation with an old, dying one. It is generally supposed
that they are the same race; but this is not so. They are of abso-
lutely different origin, and there is no sympathy, no similarity
between them. They are an enterprising people. I think that the

Japanese are of Turkish blood; of the same race as the Turks or
Arabians. Regarding the solution of the Chinese immigration ques-
tion, however, I have no doubt but that the Chinese Government
would unite with us in stopping it if we asked. They are very fond
of arbitration, and would willingly compromise the matter. We
could thus do a great deal of good without friction. Commerce
would not necessarily be endangered, for the law of supply and
demand will regulate that everywhere throughout the world. If a man
has anything to sell, and we will buy it, we can get it. The ( 'hinese
merchant will trade here if he can get his prices, or do better than
he can elsewhere. We export to China articles of produce, and it is
the great market for our silver. We have also a sort of three-cornered
trade with Great Britain and China. We are exporting very much
more in value than in import. Silver is the standard in China.
( rold is an article of merchandise, like rice, tea, or anything else, it
is the market for silver — by some called the " sink of the precious
metals." As ( !hina has nearly one-third the population of the world,
they require an immense amount of money to carry on their ordinary
business.

Q. — They could spare enough of their people to overflow this wdiole
country, and scarcely feel the difference, could they not?

A. — Yes, sir. But all their ideas are against it. They are an
exclusive race, ami it is only by determined effort that that exclu-
siveness has been, in a measure, broken down. It seems to me that
if our government would send there a statement of facts and griev-
ances, and ask the Chinese Government to cooperate with us in
stopping this immigration in a friendly way, they would be willing
to do it, because they want their people to stay at home.

Q. — Do you think it possible for the two races to live in this coun-
try without, sooner or later, coming into a collision which will result
in one becoming subject to the other?

A. — No, sir. One will have to be subject to the other.

THIRD DAY.

San Francisco, April 14th, 1876.

STATEMENT OF HON. E. J. LEWIS,

On behalf of the sub-committee appointed to visit the Chinese quarter.

Mr. Lewis, in answer to questions, stated that he had resided in
California twenty-seven years; in Tehama County twenty-three years;
had served in the Assembly of the State and in the Senate two terms ;
a member of the Chinese Investigation Committee, and of the sub-
committee appointed to make an examination of the Chinese quarter,
and continued :

We went through the various quarters inhabited by the Chinese,
for the purpose of getting whatever information we could concerning
the moral, physical, and social condition of the Chinamen, and more
particularly to ascertain if there was collusion between the officers

of this city, as had boon intimated by persons upon the witness stand,
and persons violating the law; whether money was paid by the Chi-
nese to have tolerated the crime of gambling. " In going through the
several parts of the city we were, of course, known, from the fact that
the interpreter was well known. They were also informed who Ave
were, and what our mission was. They appeared to be a little afraid
of what they called the " City Hall fellows," but when it was explained
that we were not their enemies, but were there seeking information
regarding their condition, they appeared to be willing to give us what-
ever information was in their power. In going through the several
parts of the city occupied by Chinese, we saw signs, which the inter-
preter informed us were gambling-house signs, but the houses were
closed, in consequence, probably, of our visit to that portion of the
city. They read " Open night and day;" " The table is spread night
and day:" "Riches and plenty," etc. We then visited the Chinese
Mission, on Jackson Street, where we saw a Chinaman preaching to
seventy-live or one hundred others. We then visited the Globe Hotel,
a structure, I think, four stories high, and about one hundred feet
square, on the corner of Jackson and Dupont Streets. It would be
impossible to approximate the number of Chinamen we saw there,
with anything like accuracy. It is used as a Chinese lodging-house,
and these people swarm there. In one of the rooms we found a white
woman, teaching a class of Chinese youths— about twenty in the class.
She said she was making some progress with them, and they appeared
to be getting along about as well as white children of the same ages.
In that house there were rooms eight by ten feet, and smaller. In a
room of that size fifteen ( 'hinamen had shelves, or bunks, where they
turned in at night — and they must have been packed something like
sardines in a box, clear up to the ceiling. I suppose the ceilings are
about ten feet high. We then went to Dupont Street, and visited
several places of business in what appeared to be the more respecta-
ble portion of Chinatown. We then went to the office of one of the
companies — the Sam-ynp Company — where we met the heads of
these six companies. We had a long conversation with them, first,
as to the number of Chinamen that belonged to each company, with
a result as follows :

Sam-ynp Company 1(>,100

Yung-wo Company 10,200

Kong-chow Company 15,000

Ning-yeung Company 7-VJ00

Yan-wo Company i.:;no

Hop-wo Company 84,000

Total 148,600

That, I understand, is the number now on this coast belonging to
those companies. There are some Chinamen not belonging to any
company. The companies, I think, are societies for the protection
of Chinamen coming from some particular locality in China, or in
the province of Canton. Each company represents a separate dis-
trict. Their custom is, whenever a ship lands here, an interpreter or
inspector goes on board and finds out the locality from which each
Chinaman came. His answer determines the company to which he
shall go, and he at once is enrolled as a member thereof. So far as

avc could gather from the Chinese, they do not pay any dues. The
Presidents deny having exercised any criminal jurisdiction, or to
have punished offenders. We could get nothing from them in rela-
tion to their contract with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
They said that no man could go home if he owed any debts to the
merchants, because that was the agreement among themselves. The
steamship company being interested in shipping them, agreed not
to let them go. That is all we could get,

Mr. Pierson — In what way do the companies protect Chinese?

A. — By affording them means of employment — to see that they get
something to do. They see that they are provided for until they get
work. The only restrictions, as far as we could understand, was that
none could go home to China without paying the debts they owed
Chinese merchants. I understand that it is impossible to get in debt
to the companies, because they advance nothing. There is some sort
of a contract with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company by which no
Chinaman can get a ticket without the consent of the companies,
unless he pays one hundred dollars for it, They say that the reason
Chinese come here is, that those who are in California writeback
glowing accounts of tins country and its wealth, thus inducing others
to come. Where they have no money to come, and they cannot raise
enough from their families or relations, some friend will advance the
money and take a contract that the borrowing party shall refund the
amount loaned, with heavy interest, as soon as he can earn it, There
is no company contract, as f understand it, There is no immigration
here that does not come from Canton, or within two or three days
travel of it. Coming to a strange country, ignorant of our laws, lan-
guage, and customs, they find these companies an absolute necessity.
in answer to our question as to the inducements the Chinese have to
come here, they said that they were the same as actuated everybody
principally to better their condition financially. They said that they
supposed the antagonism to their coming here was because of the
competition between Chinese and white labor. They had no observa-
tions to offer on that point. We asked them if they had the power
to suppress gambling-houses and houses of prostitution, and to com-
pel the people to keep clean. They said they had not. They could
advise but could not compel. They said they had sent home proc-
lamations saying that there was no labor here for any more of them,
and advising them to stay at home. They had as many here now as
could be marie useful. They said that further Chinese immigration
would lie injurious to all concerned. We left the Presidents and
continued our walk through Chinatown. We went into places so
filthy and dirty I cannot see how these people live there. The fumes
of opium, mingled with the odor arising from filth and dirt, made
rather a sickening feeling creep over us. I would not go through
that quarter again for anything in the world. The whole Chinese
quarter is miserably filthy, and I think that the passage of an ordi-
nance removing them from the city, as a nuisance, would be justifia-
ble. I do not understand why a pestilence has not ere this raged
there. It is probably owing to the fact that this is one of the most
healthy cities in the world. The houses would be unfit for the occu-
pation of white people, for I do not see how it would be possible to
cleanse them, unless you burn up the whole quarter, and even then
I doubt whether you can get rid of the filth. The Presidents said
that there were thirty thousand Chinamen in the city, and thirty

thousand more in the State outside the city. From one thousand
five hundred to two thousand five hundred Chinese women are in
the State.

George W. Duefield sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Twenty-four years, in San Francisco.

Q. — What has been your occupation?

A. — I was connected with the police force in eighteen hundred and
fifty-three-four, and for the last eleven years.

Q,. — Have your duties called you into the Chinese quarters of this
city?

A. — Yes ; for the last nine years.

Q. — Can you give a description of the extent of those quarters?
What streets are occupied by them ?

A. — -A great many Chinamen live on Pacific, Jackson, Dupont, and
Sacramento Streets. Those are the principal streets.

Q. — What is the area occupied, in blocks — about how many blocks
of this city?

A. — About six or seven blocks. The whole 'Chinese population is
confined to six or seven blocks.

Q. — At about what do you estimate that population?

A. — From twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand in this city and
county. A great many work in factories outside the city, mostly at
Black Point, and these come in about once a week, sometimes often er.

Q. — Do you know the building called the Globe Hotel ?

A. — Yes, sir. That is on the northwest corner of Jackson and
Dupont Streets.

Q. — About what is the size of that building?

A. — About one hundred by one hundred and twenty-five feet, five
stories high, and a basement. There are about two hundred, and
seventy-five or three hundred Chinese living in it.

Q. — How is it occupied?

A. — The basement and the ground floor, the floor on the level of
the street, by stores. The upper stories are occupied by rooms of men
making collars, tailoring, etc, and sleeping apartments. The sleep-
ing rooms are some twelve by fourteen, some smaller, and fourteen
or fifteen feet high. Of such rooms they make two stories out of one,
each about six or seven feet high. In some of these little rooms there
are only two Chinamen, and in some four or five; in some, more.

Q. — What is the condition as to cleanliness?

A. — It is very dirty indeed — filthy. The Chinese quarters, as a
whole, could not be much filthier and dirtier.

Q. — Do you know anything about the number of Chinese women
in this city? Can you approximate?

A. — I should think there are from one thousand to one thousand
two hundred.

Q. — What occupations are they following?

A. — Principally prostitution.

<l. — How many Chinese women living in the Chinese quarters are
not prostitutes?

A. — There may be one hundred, but not over that. The balance
are prostitutes.

Q. — Describe the situation of the houses of prostitution, their gen-
eral appearance, and the habits of those people?

A. — One class of these Chinese women go with white men, and
another class go with Chinamen. They live in very small places,
some of them in holes six by six and six by live. The Chinese pros-
titutes who go with Chinamen are of the better class. Their places
are cleaner and they have more room. Where Chinawomen go with
Chinamen they will not allow white men at all. I don't think there
is any doubt about the women being bought and sold like sheep.
Sometimes Chinese women escape and get married, but w T hen they do
get away the owners try to get them back, or make the man pay them
her value. Sometimes they have him arrested for kidnaping or
crime, and then steal the woman. Sometimes they resort to our
( 'ourts for the purpose of getting possession of her, and then send her
back to her life of prostitution. The women are treated now 7 a great
deal better than they used to be. They used to receive very rough
treatment. They have not been beaten much lately, because the
police watch them and arrest them for beating. When they become
sick and helpless they send them to the hospitals or leave them to
die. Sometimes they leave them with a cup of rice, to die without
attendance. They take no care of them when they get sick. I have
caught Chinese in the act of turning the sick out to die — leaving
them on the sidewalk and in the street to perish.

Q. — ( 'an you approximate the number of Chinese houses of pros-
titution ill this city?

A. — There may be in the neighborhood of forty or fifty. I don't
know that there are so many now, because a great many have been
broken up within the last five or six weeks. This excitement has
tended to do that. I don't think we can find in this city one house
resorted to 'by white men but Avhat has been broken up. The result
is, these women must go into the country.

Mr. Pierson — What particular streets do they occupy?

A. — Principally alleys — Stout's Alley, Spofford Alley, Washington
Alley, and Sullivan Alley.

Mr. Haymond — What is the condition of those alleys?

A. — Very dirty and filthy.

Q. — Are there many Chinese in this city that are married?

A. — Very few. Sometimes a Chinaman will get a Chinese woman
out of a house of prostitution, go to a Justice's Court, and get married.

Q. — Taking the Chinese quarter as a whole, is it as filthy as it
can be ?

A. — Yes, sir. It cannot be much dirtier.

Q. — Were you ever in New York City?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Was there any part of that city, as it existed twenty years ago,
that could be compared with the Chinese quarter?

A. — No, sir. The Five Points could not be compared with it. The
Chinese quarter is dirtier and filthier than the Five Points were.

Mr. Evans — How many gambling-houses are there?

A. — Very few. There used to be a great many. I don't think you
can find one now.

Q. — How many were there six weeks ago?

A. — Forty, fifty, or sixty.

Q. — As many gambling-houses as houses of prostitution?

A. — Yes, sir. They had the reputation of being gambling-houses,
but the policemen could never catch them. I have not seen a game
of tan played in three years. In early days there use to be tables for

white men — as many white men played as Chinamen. There are no
gambling-houses running now.

Mr. Donovan — Can you read the Chinese characters?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Can yen read gambling signs in the Chinese language?
' A. — No, sir. 1 can't tell a gambling sign from any other.

Q. — The heads of the companies told us that the gambling-houses
had been in the habit of raising and paying money to men at the
City Hall, to secure themselves from interference — and the same
thing regarding the houses of prostitution. They said that if we
could get honest American officers, there would be no more gambling
and prostitution in Chinatown ; but until that time, they will con-
tinue to exist, This was told us by the heads of the companies, the
six Presidents being present,

A. — In answer to that, I will state that all those men talking to you
were interested in those gambling-houses.

Mr. Haymond — How is this population as to criminal propensities?

A. — They are a nation of thieves. I have never seen one that
would not steal.

Q. — What is the proportion of criminals to the whole number?
What is the proportion of men who follow crime for a livelihood?

A. — I call a man who will steal a criminal.

Q. — Then nearly all will be criminals?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q, — Do you know anything of their spiriting away witnesses and
compou nding cri mes ?

A. — Yes, sir. They will do it all the time— from the Presidents
down.

Q. — Have they some means of settling cases outside of Court?

A— They all do it.

Q. — And there is no means of getting testimony outside of the
Chinese?

A.- — No, sir.

Q. — And they settle crimes whenever they can do so?

A. — Sometimes one company will prosecute another, but where
they can settle for money, they will do it.

Q. — Have they any regard for justice here?

A. — No, sir; not a bit,

Q,. — How does their testimony stand in the Courts?

A.— They think no more of taking an oath than they do of eating
rice. They have no regard for our oaths at all. Their own oaths
they regard as sacred, and the only way you can get them to tell the
truth is to cut off a rooster's head and burn China paper. They fol-
lowed that system here in early days, but not lately.

Q, — Is it not often the case that on a preliminary examination
there is testimony enough to convict a man, but when you come to
the trial these same witnesses testify exactly the reverse, or else will
not testify at all ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q.— Do you know anything of parties being held in slavery?

A.— No men are held, but the women are all slaves. The women
are in slavery of the most revolting kind.

Mr. Pierson— What proportion of the convictions in the Police
Court are Chinese?

A. — I can't exactly tell, but a great many Chinamen are convicted
in the Police Court.

Q. — Do you know of the existence of any Chinese opium-dens.

A. — Yes, sir; every house is one. Ninety-nine Chinamen out of
one hundred smoke opium.-

Q. — Do white people frequent these opium dens?

A. — I think there is one on Pine Street, and one on California
Street.

(,). — Do you know of any white people being interested in the busi-
ness of Chinese prostitution — receiving any part of the profits?

A.— No, sir.

Mr. Haymond — What, in your opinion, is the effect of the presence
of the Chinese here on the industrial interests of this city?

A. — I think it is bad. They are the worst class of people on the
faee of the earth.

Q. — Why are the gambling-houses closed now?

A. — Because the police officers made raids on them. This excite-
ment has had a great deal to do with it, How long it will last I can't
tell.

Q. — Have you any special instructions from the head of the depart-
ment as to your duty in closing them up ?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — Have you had any instructions in regard to closing up houses
of prostitution ?

A. — Since Mayor Bryant has been in office he has given me instruc-
tions. I never received any before.

Mr. Rogers — Are you a regular officer?

A. — I am a special officer.

Mr. Evans — How are the special policemen paid ?

A. — The same as regular officers.

Q, — Who pays them ?

A. — The Chinese. We draw nothing from the city treasury. We
have no regular salary, but we depend on the voluntary contributions
from the store-keepers. A part of our duty is to employ men to keep
the streets clean.

(,). — How many special policemen are there in the Chinese quarter?

A. — Five or six.

Mr. Haymond — Are these special policemen all paid by contribu-
tions from the people living on their beats"/

A. — Yes, sir.

Abeam Altemeyek sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in California ?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty-eight

Q. — What business are you engaged in ?

A. — 1 am a member of the firm of Einstein Bros. & Co. We man-
ufacture boots and shoes.

Q. — How many hands have you employed?

A. — From three hundred to five hundred, according to the season.

Q. — For how long a time have you employed Chinamen, and how
many ?

A. — For the last four or five years we have employed from two
hundred to three hundred and seventy-five.

Q, — Do they work at all portions of the business?
4

A. — Different portions of the business.

Q. — What wages were you in the habit of paying?

A— Most of them wire contracted for. They were engaged when
they didn't understand the business, and taught what to do. At first
we gave them fifty cents per day, and as they advanced we increased
their wages, until about the eighth month they got one dollar a day.
We contracted for them, for two years, with Yu-chuy-lung Company.
We made contracts with them to furnish us so many men for a cer-
tain price, and we paid the money to that company. They furnish
us as many men as we want, and we have nothing to do with the
Chinamen,' except to work them. The first month I think we paid
them fifty cents per day; the second, I think, sixty cents, and so on,
until in the sixth month they got seventy-five cents, and in the eighth
month one dollar, for each man. One dollar a day is the contract
price for two years, and they work ten hours a day.

Mr. Donovan— Suppose the company gives you a man who don't
know anything about the business, what guarantee have you that
you will have the same man for two years?

A. — In the first place, the company is responsible, and in the second
place, we hold back from each man's wages a certain amount to
secure fulfillment of their contract. Our contract provides that when
a man goes away the company shall furnish us another, and we start
him at the same price that we give green men. When they violate
the contract, we appropriate this deduction which we have made
from their wages.

Q. — How do" they hire men — as agents, owners, or controllers?

A.— We tell them that we want a certain number of men, and they
get them for us. We cannot go directly and hire these fellows, because
we can't speak their language and cannot explain what we want.
We save much time and trouble by having all our dealings with one
company.

Q. — Have you any contract for recompense for anything they steal ?

A. — Yes, sir. It is to the effect that in case a man is dishonest, or
steals anything, the agent shall be responsible.

Q. — Have you found them dishonest?

A. — I have, in several instances.

Q. — Are they honest or dishonest, as a rule ?

A. — They will bear close watching. I think they will take things
whenever they can get a chance.

Q. — Has not your company compelled the Chinese company to
make up losses amounting to four thousand dollars or five thousand
dollars, from your Hayes Street establishment?

A. — Yes, sir; Ave made the contractors pay for all the goods we did
not find. I think Ave made them pay one thousand dollars. They
found a good many of the goods themselves and returned them to us.
The goods Avere found in the boarding and lodging-houses.

Q. — From what you know about Chinamen would you, under any
circumstances, be willing to trust them without watching?

A.— No, sir.

Mr. Haymond — Do you knoAv what wages are paid Eastern men for
work which you pay one dollar a day for?

A. — They are making from seven dollars to eight dollars a week
there now.

Q. — Do you find any of these Chinamen avIio speak English ?

A. — We have only one man who speaks English, and he is the
interpreter.

Q. — Is the employment of Chinese labor here detrimental to the
employment of white labor?

A. — Yes, sir; there is no question but that it keeps white men
from coming here, while those who are here cannot get work.

Q. — Is it not true that the lighter branches of trade and manufac-
tures, which in other places are filled by boys, are here filled by the
Chinese?

A.— Yes, sir.

Q. — This deprives both boys and girls of occupations?

A. — Yes, sir.

Mr. Evans — Suppose there were no Chinese here, could you find
white boys and girls to take their places?

A. — We have tried it, and find we can. We find no difficulty
whatever in getting all the workmen we can employ.

Q. — At the same price?

A.— No, sir. We are willing to pay white men double as much.
We pay white people by the piece, and they can make as much as
they can. A white man will do twice as much work as a Chinaman,
and will produce work of a better quality. The difference in cost
will be very little, and that is one reason we are changing to white
labor. We are paying white men two dollars and fifty cents, three
dollars, and four dollars a day, the wages depending upon the
quality of the workmanship.

Mr. Raymond — What do the Chinamen you have had employed
live on ?

A. — I went into their boarding-house, and all I saw them eat was
rice

Q, — Imported from China ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How do they dress?

A. — Just the same as you see them on the street — Chinese clothes
altogether. They wear none of our manufactures, except the hat.

Mr. Lewis — What factory is this on Clay Street?

A. — That is a place where the Chinese make shoes. There are
forty or fifty such places here.

Q.— Are they skillful?

A. — They are quick at imitation. They learn soon by looking on.
Then they go off in business for themselves. For business men to
employ Chinese, is simply putting nails in their coffins. Every
Chinaman employed will be a competitor. The result must be the
driving from the country of white business men and white laborers.
White laborers could not live as they do, and the result would be a
ruinous competition for the whites. The Chinese merchant can live
as much cheaper than the white merchant, as can the Chinese laborer
live cheaper than the white laborer. When such a thing gets full
headway, the whites will be displaced. I have made this thing a
very careful study, and my experience teaches me that these views
are correct.

Mr. Evans — Why did you employ Chinese labor at all?

A. — When we first employed the Chinamen, white labor was very
scarce. Besides, in those days existed the Crispin Society. They
demanded extravagant wages, and manufacturers were compelled to
employ Chinamen ; but those days are all gone by. There are plenty

of white laborers here now, willing to work at reasonable rates.
When we put an advertisement in the papers this week for white
labor, we must have had one thousand applications from men, boys,
and girls. Another fact is, that when Chinese were first employed,
there were few boys in the community. They have grown up since.
however, and at the present time there are a great number of them.

Q. — Is it not a fruitful cause of hoodlumism that the Chinese are
driving boys out of the legitimate avenues of employment?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How many boys have you emploj'ed now?

A. — I think about fifty.

Q. — How many do you employ altogether — men and boys?

A. — About four hundred, 1 think.

Q. — How many Chinamen?

A. — We have about one hundred left.

Q. — Did you discharge your Chinamen before or after this excite-
ment ?

A. — We had discharged about seventy-five or eighty before this
question was broached at all, and put white men in their places.
We have discharged about one hundred since. We shall dispense
with Chinese labor altogether as soon as we can do so. The only
Chinamen we have employed now are those engaged in making
misses' and children's shoes — light, cheap work, to which we must
train up boys.

Q. — Where did these Chinamen who have factories learn the
business?

A. — They all learned in the white factories ?

Q. — Then it is your opinion that white labor can be used here with
as much economy as Chinese labor, if not more?

A. — Yes ; if light machinery is brought into play.

Q. — How about the woolen mills and tanneries?

A. — I do not think the tanneries employ anything but white labor;
but if they do, I should judge they could change with advantage.
With machinery especially, white men are better than Chinamen.
We have replaced some Chinamen at our machinery with little
white boys, twelve years old, and they are much better than the
Chinese.

John L. Durkee sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in California?

A. — Twenty-seven years.

Q. — What is your business?

A. — I have been Fire Marshal here for twelve years.

Q. — What are some of the duties of your office?

A. — To attend fires, look after parties arrested for arson, carry out
the orders of the Board of Supervisors in regard to fire ordinances.

Mr. Donovan — What has been your experience with fires in the
Chinese quarter?

A. — A 'cry bad.

Q. — Do fires, generally, burn much there".'

A. — They burn pretty badly. A fire in the Chinese quarter is very
troublesome for the reason that there are so many partitions. Out of
an ordinary room they will make two and three stories, and when a
fire gets, in there it is hard to get at it. They are the most careless
people with fire that I ever saw in my life. There are as many fires

there as in the balance of the city, and it is a miracle that there are
not more.

Q. — You have been through a great many of these buildings, have
you not ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How do they conform to the laws and ordinances of the Board
of Supervisors in relation to the fire ordinances?

A. — They don't conform at all. They arc more trouble than all
the wlii to people put together.

Q. — Have you found them to have had much influence in getting
orders in relation to fire revoked?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — I will call your attention to a particular instance — the build-'
ing leased to the Chinese by the Rev. Otis Gibson, on Jackson Street,
north side, between Kearny and Dupont. Have you had any trouble
there?

A. — Yes; I have had. They were putting up a two story frame-
building in an alley-way there, and I notified them to stop it. Mr.
Gibson came before the Board of Supervisors and got a permit and
resolution allowing him to build. It was vetoed by the Mayor, but
passed over his veto. There is where Ave get checkmated, and the
Chinese are exempted from our ordinances.

Q. — Do you know who controls that property, and leases it to Chi-
namen ?

A. — -I know from hearsay — the Rev. Otis Gibson, Chinese mission-
ary — and he is the one who got that permit.

Mr. Haymond — From what part of the United States did you come?

A.— New York.

Q. — How does the Chinese quarter here compare with the worst
parts of New York of twenty-five years ago, in point of cleanliness?

A. — I could not make the comparison — this is so infinitely filthier.
I never saw a place so dirty and filthy as our Chinese quarter.

Q. — Do you know the Globe Hotel, and its condition ?

A. — I have not been in it for some time, but when I was there, it
was like the balance; probably a little worse, if possible.

Q. — How near to the City Hall have the Chinese extended their
quarters ?

A. — They are within sight and hearing distance all around here,
and very close to the business part of town. Property around here
is constantly depreciating in value, because of the approach of the
Chinese. The whites cannot stand their dirt and the fumes of opium,
and are compelled to leave their vicinity. This part of the city has
grown very little in eight years, while other portions have grown very
much. Houses occupied by Chinese are not fit for white occupation,
because of the filth and stench. Chinamen violate the fire ordinances,
and unless we catch them in the act we cannot convict. They all
swear themselves clear. The only way I can account for our not
having a great fire in the Chinese quarter is. that the wood is too
filthy and too moist from mistiness to burn. It has too much dirt on
it to catch fire.

Rev. A. W. Loomis sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?
A. — Since September, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.
Q. — Where were you prior to that ?

A. — I was five years in Illinois and Missouri : previous to that, two
years in the State of New York : and previous to that, in China —
from eighteen hundred and forty-four to eighteen hundred and fifty.
I was most of the time at Ning-po; resided for a few months at
Macao, Hong-kong, and Canton. I was a missionary there.

Q. — Give, in your own language, a description of their condition,
morally, socially, and politically: the manner in which they live;
what they work at; the wages they receive; their religion, etc.

A. — They are all idolaters. The laboring classes and the literary
classes are the worshipers of Confucius, heaven and earth, the sun,
moon, and stars. Most of the people are, in a measure, Buddhis
They worship all the gods, and they have household gods. Their
gods are many in number, and are mostly deified heroes. The Bud-
dhist religion is imported from India, and was brought to China
perhaps one hundred or two hundred years after Christ, and is par-
ticularly prevalent in Mongolia and Tappan. There are some temples
here devoted to the Chinese worship, and are usually well fitted up,
constructed as private ventures. A great many people who worship
in them pay so much money, others subscribe, and subscriptions
come in from all over the country. They are less attached to their
religion here than they are at home, and a great many become very
careless in this country after being here awhile. This is the case
especially with those who attend our school; many of them become
nominally Christians, and give up the worship of the gods. They
declare that their gods are no more than senseless things, and they
have found a better one. There are some here professing Christianity
who are living in a very commendable manner. I am connected with
the Presbyterian Mission, corner of Stockton and Sacramento -Streets.
It has been in operation since eighteen hundred and fifty-two — Dr.
Speer commencing the work, I succeeded him. Rev. Dr. Condit has
been attached to the mission. We have received eighty members —
deducting those who have been dismissed, and we have sixty-three.
They are not all here now. Some are in China, and others are scat-
tered over the country doing work, and reporting to us frequently.

Q. — That dates from your administration in eighteen hundred and
fifty-nine? Nearly twenty years ago ?

A. — Yes, sir: seventeen years. We have had a school that length
of time. The Chinese come and go. The population is constantly
moving. A large immigration comes here in the spring, and many
return in the fall. Many go home to visit and return here again.
They go back in the fall so as to arrive in China in time for the
Chinese New Year. They have a great attachment for their homes,
in China, rarely going out of sight of them. You find the Chinese
almost everywhere; many here have been in Australia, many in
Victoria, etc.

Q. — What is the condition in China of the class we have here?

A. — Those who are here largely represent the agricultural class.
At first the immigration was confined principally to shop-keepers
and small farmers in and around Macao, Hong-kong, and Canton.
Latterly the common laborers have flocked here. There are not
many scholars among them, because, being away from the cities, they
have no educational advantages.

Q. — What wages are received in China ?

A. — I think from three dollars to five dollars a month.

Q. — And board themselves ?

A. — Well, I don't know about that. I think servants in Hong-
kong, Canton, and Macao receive three dollars or four dollars a
month, where they are employed in families. Then they board with
the families, I think. On the farms they board themselves.

Q. — How much will it take to support the family of a laboring
man in China, where he has a wife and two or three children ?

A. — Three or four dollars a month. Some live on less than that.
Everything is very cheap. A man who acquires three hundred dol-
lars or four hundred dollars is rich — esteemed comfortably well off.
There are large land holders and heavy merchants there who are very
wealthy.

Q. — What is their moral condition in their own country?

A. — In some respects they are very commendable. As regards vir-
tue and faithfulness between man and. wife, the Chinese will compare
favorably witli the white race of San Francisco. These Chinawomen
that you see on the streets here were brought for the accommodation
of white people, not for the accommodation of Chinese; and if you
pass along the street- where they are to be found, you will see that
they are visited not so much by Chinese as by others — sailors and
low people. The women are in a condition of servitude. Some of
them are inveigled away from home under promise of marriage to
men here, and some to be secondary wives, while some are stolen.
They are sold here. Many women are taken from the Chinese owners
and are living as wives and secondary wives. Some have children,
and these children are legitimate.

Q. — These women engaged in prostitution are nothing more than
slaves to them?

A.— Yes, sir; and every one would go home to-day if she were free
and had her passage paid.

Q. — They are not allowed to release themselves from that situation,
are they ?

A. — I think they are under the surveillance of men and women, so
that they cannot get away. They would fear being caught and sold
again, and carried off to a condition even worse than now.

Q. — Are not the laws here used to restrain them from getting away
— are they not arrested for crime?

A. — Oh, yes. They will trump up a case, have the woman arrested,
and bring people to swear what they want. In this way they manage
to get possession of her again.

Q. — Have they at any time interfered with the women brought to
your mission ?

A. — We have not at our mission, but I think Mr. Gibson has had
interference from then;.

< Q. — Do you know what they do with the women when they become
sick and useless ?

A. — I do not know. I have seen some on the street that looked in
bad condition, and I have heard of their being abandoned to die, but
I have never seen any case of that kind.

Q. — Do you know how they treat these people?

A. — I understand they treat them very badly. Women have come
to the Home with bruises and marks of violence on their persons. I
think their condition is a very hard one.

Q. — Then it is a slavery which, from the very first, destroys body,
soul, and everything else?

A. — Yes, sir; and the women will be glad to escape from it if they
knew they would be protected.

Q. — When you were in China — from eighteen hundred and forty-
four to eighteen hundred and fifty — did the term "coolie" hate a
recognized meaning ?

A. — The term "coolie" was introduced into China from India.
In India it is the name of a caste. In ( !hina it simply means a serv-
ant. There are no men slaves in China, but the menial work is all
done by these coolies or servants.

Mr. Donovan — What wages do Chinamen receive at home?

A. — Three, four, or five dollars a month.

Q — It has been testified before this committee that a Chinaman in
China has one wife and as many concubines as he pleases?

A.— A man has one wife, and she is mistress of the family. The
children all acknowledge her as mother, and the secondary wives
acknowledge her as such. They are her servants or associates.

Q. — -Has the husband a right to hire out the secondary wives for
any purpose he may deem fit — for instance, for the purpose of prosti-
tution ?

A. — I don't think he would. I have never known of instances of
that kind, but I have known of instances like this : A man who had
no male issue by a certain woman has offered her to another man, for
a certain time, for a consideration.

Q. — Would you consider that a very respectable standard of moral-
ity ?

A. — I don't think so.

Q. — Is it not a fact that, in China, they destroy the female children
in a great many instances?

A.- — I understand they do. I always have understood that, but it
is more prevalent in the southern portion of the country than in the
northern.

Q. — -Do you know that the Chinese Government has issued procla-
mations, forbidding the killing of female children, the principal
reason being that they want sufficient women in the empire to satisfy
the men?

A. — No; I don't know that. The system of morality taught in
China is equal to any that we find anywhere.

Q. — Do you consider that a man who will sell his wife in order to
get a male heir is a good man?

A. — I do not indorse that.

Q. — About how long were you in the Province of Canton?

A. — Four months at Macao, and a few weeks in Canton.

Q. — Do you know anything about how these people come here?

A. — I think they all come voluntarily.

Q. — Do they make contracts to serve a certain length of time in
consideration of their fare being paid?

A. — When men are too poor to come here themselves they get
some one to advance the money, and they agree to return that money
with a certain advance. When contractors here want many China-
men they go to some Chinese broker. This broker rushes about
town to get laborers at the rates agreed upon, but if he does not suc-
ceed he sends to China, contracting with the men to work as cheap as
they can. He advances their passage-money and retains from their
wages this amount, with heavy interest. I do not think the six com-
panies have anything to do with it. I don't think there is any

coolie traffic carried on in the same way that il is in Pern and the
West Indies. I have known the same thing amongst Americans.
In early days white men came to California under such contracts.
There is no denying the fact that they do come under contract to
perform certain labor to repay passage-money. They always keep
these contracts, but I have known of cases where white men, under
similar contracts, have failed to keep them.

Q. — Are not the Chinese compelled to keep their words by the mis-
sions, the six companies, and the Pacific Mail Steamship ( Jompany?

A. — There is an arrangement with the steamship company, that no
( 'hinamen can get a ticket without a permit.

Q. — Then no Chinamen can go out of this country without your
permission, the permission of Rev. Otis Gibson, or the permission of
the six companies?

A. — That is the arrangement with the steamship company.

0. — Do you know whether they have any Courts in which they
try crimes?

A. — No, sir; I do not know of any such arrangement. When
trouble arises, the companies get together for consultation and do all
they can to settle difficulties; but I have never heard of a criminal
Court amongst them. Of course, friends will try to assist friends and
get them out of trouble.

Mr. Evans — Haven't you found it to be the rule that people of any
particular nationality, going to a new country, go to their own people
for information ?

A. — Yes, sir. The Irishmen, the Frenchmen, the Italians, or any
people, especially when they cannot speak English, go to their own
people; and it is the same way with the Chinese.

Q. — Are there not mercantile associations in this city that fix prices
and rates among themselves?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And the man who violates their rules is considered an im-
moral man ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Mr. Donovan — You don't know anything about their tribunals?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — You don't know of any other way they have of controlling
Chinamen — other than that of preventing them from going to China?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — What do they charge them for commission ?

A. — I believe it is two dollars a ticket.

Q. — How is your mission sustained?

A.— It is sustained by voluntary contributions from the East. It
is connected with Presbyterian Church.

Q.— By American people, or by Chinese ?

A.— By American people. Our contributions from this coast are
small. We have a system of contribution in all our churches. We
depend upon contributions for our support, and would be glad to
receive them from any source. That is the case with all churches
and with all creeds.

Q. — You are employed by your church as a missionary?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And you are expected to elevate and christianize the China-

men

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — So you try to elevate them, and if they have any shortcomings
you try not to see them?

A. — The work of the missionary is, of course, to try and do good by
preaching the gospel, by establishing Sunday-schools, and by visiting
among the people. We read the Bible to them, and tell them what
is a Christian life. Of course, they arc not easy to teach Christianity,
for they come here idolators. In morals, I think they compare
favorably with any heathen nation in the world, and in many
respects very favorably with ours. Any nation having a grade of
morals superior to those taught by Confucius and the Chinese clas-
sics cannot be found ; and if the Chinese would live up to the teach-
ings of their sages, there wouldn't be a more moral people on the
face of the earth.

Q, — How does their practice compare with their theory?

A. — There is the trouble; and the same thing exists among our own
people. The Americans go to church and hear good things, but they
don't mind them. Moreover, in San Francisco, there are a great
many ministers working amongst our own people, while there are
only a few of us amongst the Chinese.

Q. — Are you in any way interested in Chinese immigration?

A. — No, sir. In regard to immigration my own position has been
this from the beginning: if they would stay away it would be better
for them, because coming here they learn many bad tilings that they
would not learn at home. I think contact with the low class of
Americans and foreigners is damaging; and these excitements which
are started up periodically are very uncomfortable to us as mission-
aries.

Q. — Then the people who come from China are better than the
people of our own race — of our own nation — and those who come
from other nations ?

A. — I did not say so.

Q. — You said they are damaged by contact?

A.- — I think we have people in this city who are worse than any
Chinaman that can be picked up. Don't you?

Q. — I don't know about that. I think our people are better.

A. — I think if you visit our Police Court you will find among our
own people and other nationalities examples as bad as you can
among the Chinese. You will iind they can swear as hard, if not
harder, than any Chinaman.

Q. — As a race are the Chinese honest or dishonest?

A. — Honest.

Q. — Were the servants you employed Christian Chinamen?

A. — No, sir; not always.

Q. — Were they influenced by your teachings?

A. — I hope so.

Q. — Governor Low testified, the other day, that no man will hire a
Chinaman in China without requiring of him a bond to guard
against loss by theft, because it is considered that every Chinaman
must necessarily steal some time or other. How is that?

A. — I never required bonds, nor have my missionary friends. I
don't think there are more thieves among them than there are
amongst our own people, in proportion to the population.

FOURTH DAY.

San Francisco, April 15th, 1876.

Jas. R. Rogers sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have yon resided in California?

A.— Twenty-seven years.

Q, — How much of that time has been spent in San Francisco?

A. — Six years.

Q. — What has been your occupation?

A. — During the last four or five years, a police officer.

Q.— Are you acquainted with the Chinese quarter of this city?

A.— Yes," sir.

Q. — About how much territory does it cover?

A— About six to eight blocks, I think.

Q. — What is its condition in relation to cleanliness?

A. — Filthy in the extre me, so far as the inside is concerned. There
are some stores on Sacramento Street that are clean.

Q. — How does it compare with the worst portions of Eastern cities?

A. — I never saw any part of New York, where 1 was born, that
would compare with anything we have in Chinatown. It is worse
than anything there. I don't think they would be allowed to stay in
New York an hour. You can't see Chinatown in passing through
the streets; you must go through the alleys and the houses.

Q. — To what purposes are the alleys devoted?

A. — Partly devoted to prostitution. There is a part which are the
rendezvous of thieves — Cooper's Alley, for instance.

Q. — How are these women held?

A. — As slaves — bought and sold. They are held as prostitutes, and
are obliged by what they call their mother, the head woman or boss
of the institution, to stand at the windows and doors and solicit pros-
titution. Most of the Chinese houses of prostitution are patronized
by whites, by young men and old ones. I have taken boys of not
more than ten or twelve years of age out of these houses. The sched-
ule of prices is such that the boys can afford to go there and patron-
ize them. The women are treated according to their behavior. If
they solicit prostitution, and make money pretty well, they are treated
pretty well ; otherwise they are fearfully beaten. When they become
sick and helpless, they arc taken care of according to the Chinese
fashion. About three years ago Chief Crowley detailed me to shut
up houses of prostitution in Chinatown. On one occasion I caught
a woman soliciting, and told her to come with me. She said she had

the . I thought she meant the venereal disease, but she pulled

up her clothes and showed me that she had the small-pox ; yet she
was sitting there soliciting prostitution from white people. These
women dare not leave their places, they are so filled with fear of
their owners. There have been attempts made to escape, but the
women have been so badly beaten that they have rushed to the police
officers for protection. The women are sold for from four hundred
dollars to six hundred dollars, and receive a red paper certifying
that they shall be free, but by the time they have served out their
time they are snatched up and run off to some other place, where
they are forced to go through the same course. There is really no
escape from the life. The owners of these women will invoke, indi-
rectly, the aid of the law, in order to regain possession of escapes.

TKey have them arrested for larceny, or some crime, and as soon as
they gel the females the cases drop through.

Q. — Do you know the Globe Hotel here?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is that a fair type of the manner in which the Chinese live?

A. — No. sir : it is an improvement. It shows not the best phase,
but it is above the average. The lower portion of that building is a
restaurant, and two gambling halls, a short time ago, and a pawn
shop. The upper stories are rooms which are pretty thickly filled.
They hire out each room as a separate habitation, and fill it with
Chinamen. Where the rooms are eighteen feet high, they put in
three floors, sometimes four. Then they build bunks or platforms all
around, and up to the ceiling of each little room. In Cooper's Alley
they have rooms six feet wide, six feet long, and six high, where five
or six Chinamen regularly sleep, and a stench arises from them which
it is impossible to describe. I cannot tell bow many occupy the
Globe Hotel now. On one occasion I took seventy-five from one
room, and locked them up for violating the "cubic air" ordinance.
That was from a garret, the ceiling so low that I could not stand
upright. During two months I arrested eight hundred Chinamen
for violating that ordinance. The Globe Hotel has been referred to
as a sample of Chinatown. It is not. Chinatown is worse every way
than is that building. The underground dens are fit samples, ph.
where only three, four, and five Chinamen can possibly sleep. Such
places we find in Bartlett and Cooper Alleys, where filth reigns
supreme.

Q. — The population of Chinatown has been estimated at thirty
thousand. What proportion of that population lives on the fruits of
crime — prostitution, gambling, etc. ?

A. — I cannot tell. The money in the houses of prostitution is col-
lected by bosses, and paid to men occupying higher positions among
the Chinese. The merchants own these places: some merchants own
three and four of these houses. That has been stated to me by
Chinamen.

Q. — How many houses of prostitution are there in the Chinese
quarter ?

A. — I should say two hundred; all the alleys are full of them.
There are from two to four women, and more, in each house.

Q. — How many gambling-houses?

A. — A great many. The number has decreased lately. I should
judge that, before this excitement, there were from one hundred and
fifty to one hundred and seventy-Jive. and. including lottery ticket
houses, fully five hundred. They draw their lotteries twice a day — at
four o'clock in the afternoon, and at eleven o'clock at night, and are
patronized by many white people. Eight hundred people would be
a fair estimate of the number engaged in and about houses of prosti-
tution. There is not a ( Ihinaman but what gambles. I believe there
are very few Chinamen but what are thieves. I know some six or
eight Chinamen in this town that are reliable; but they are, as a
nation, thieves. That judgment is based upon my Experience as an
officer. I have been called into families where larcenies have
occurred, and have nearly always found the thief to be the honest,
trusted Chinese servant. The whole Chinese population may be
regarded as being criminal. In Court, we cannot believe their testi-
mony. They will swear to anything. I have had them come to me

to ask me how many witnesses would be required to convict men.
They will produce enough witnesses to either convict or acquit, as the
case may be.

Q. — Is it not understood that there is some sort of a Chinese
tribunal here which settles matters, and determines whether China-
men, arrested on criminal processes emanating from our Courts,
shall be acquitted or not ?

A. — I do not know of my own knowledge that such a tribunal
exists. I only know that when a Chinaman swears differently from
what they want him to, his life is in danger. A Chinaman has just
returned here after an absence of three years. A man was killed by
accident, and he was notified that he must pay twelve hundred
dollars. His partner had a knife stuck in his back on Jackson
Street, and he was told he must pay twelve hundred dollars. He
asked me what he should do, and I said not to pay it. He said the}*
would kill him, or get Chinamen to swear him into State Prison.
They sometimes, in that way, use our Courts to enforce their orders,
just as policy may direct. They have no regard for our laws, and
obey them, so far as they do, only through fear.

Q. — Did you say that you suppressed houses of prostitution?

A. — I did not suppress them ; I kept them closed. I could not
turn the inmates into the street; but I watched, and notified men
and boys going there, that if they went in, I would arrest them.

Q. — Would they not open when you were away?

A. — Yes, sir. It is almost impossible to entirely suppress them,
for they naturally will open; but they can be kept closed, and the
business made unprofitable. There is no ordinance that cannot be
enforced, and I presume the ordinances we have are sufficient to
keep these houses all closed. They have all been closed since Mayor
Bryant has gone into office. I believe he issued an order for the
closing of gambling-houses, too; and so far as I can see. they have
been closed — for the present, at least.

Mr. Pierson — Are you a regular or local officer?

A. — Regular.

Q. — How are local policemen paid ?

A. — By residents on their beats. In the Chinese quarter they are
paid by Chinese. They have no regular price, but get all they can,
as is natural.

Mr. Haymond — When did you close up these houses'?

A. — During the latter part of Chief Crowley's administration. I
was detailed by him to look after gambling-houses and houses of
prostitution in Chinatown, and was on that duty until the Chief
went out. When there was a change, I was detailed to other duties.
Upon the advent of Chief Cockrill, I was placed on the detective
force. It don't require a large force to close these houses. I In do
it all in one night. Arrest the inmates of one, and it travels like
electricity from one to another; and in ten minutes every one will
be shut up. and the doors will be barricaded.

Q. — If the houses of prostitution were broken up, and these dens
cleaned out. what effect would it have upon the Chinese people?
Would it increase or diminish them ?

A. — Decrease them, because if locked up in prison there will be
so many out of the way. When turned out they would either have
to go to work or leave this part of the country. If we take away all
their temptations to commit crime, we might make them more hon-

est than they are. It mighl noi keep many from coming here, but it
would stop the importation of vile creatures and criminals.

Q. — Do you know what wages Local policemen get on an average ?

A. — They get all they can. The exact amounts I cannot tell, but
they are all good beats. The officers are all thorough, first-class
officers. I consider them as fine police officers as there are on the
force. I have had them to assist me several times, and have always
found them up to the mark. The local system is pretty good in some
respects— it furnishes a guard for the Chinese quarter when the
regular police could not do it. They make a great many arrests, and
recover much stolen property.

Q. — Suppose there were officers, regular policemen, on those beats,
receiving no pay. Don't you think they could stop gambling and
prostitution ?

A. — Yes; if they did there duty. There is hardly an ordinance
that is not violated by the Chinese, and not one that cannot be
enforced. They have an idea that money is at the bottom of the
whole thing, and if they want they can buy privileges — they don't
understand the city treasury. I have had them ask me how much I
got, how much the Chief got, and how much the Judge got.

Mr. Pierson — Do you know of the Chinese paying money to per-
sons other than special policemen, for the purpose of protecting
themselves in their business?

A. — I have been told so by Chinamen. Chinese who collected the
money told me of its payment. The Chinaman was Ah You, a
keeper of a store and gambling-house.

Q. — To whom did he pay money ?

A. , five hundred dollars one month.

Q. — For what purpose?

A. — He said he paid it from the gambling-houses to secure freedom
from interruption. He said so much money was paid per month.
It was collected from the games and stores — one hundred dollars
went to the store, and the balance to .

Q. — For what purpose ?

A.— Allowing gambling-houses to run.

Q. — How many Chinese are there in this city ?

A.— Thirty thousand scattered all over town. In Chinatown there
are from twenty-three to twenty-five thousand.

Q, — How many Chinese intelligence offices?

A. — Eight or ten. They are rather independent of the companies.
There is one on Bush Street, kept by Sam Kee. He has been letting
out a lot of thieves lately, but I told him he would have to quit and
find the thieves. He did find them. I took steps to have his license
revoked, and he then found the thieves.

MfwHaijhiond — In your opinion, what influence does the presence
of this population have upon the morals of this community?

A. — -It is disastrous. In the first place, it depreciates the value of
prop/erty. At the lottery-houses boys are allowed to purchase tickets.
That is the first step in the direction of gambling. Boys frequently
visit the Chinese houses of prostitution. I have seen small boys go
into those alleys occupied by Chinese women and talk with them in
the most filthy and disgusting manner imaginable.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know if the Chinese companies have
inspectors who go down to the steamers whenever they arrive and
take charge of the Chinamen who land here ?

A.— They have told me so. I should judge that their object was to
get the men consigned to each particular company.

Q. — If the ordinances were enforced, and these people driven out
of the city, wouldn't it be simply scattering them over the State and
making the thing almost as bad as it is now?

A.— I think a great many would go home. They could not live in
small communities. Criminal classes always seek large cities.

FIFTH DAY.

San Francisco, April 17th, 1876.

Alfred Clark sworn.

Mr. Haymond—Kow long have you resided in California?

A. — Twenty-five years.

Q. — What has been your occupation?

A.— Been connected with the police force nineteen years. For the
past seven or eight years I have been Clerk of the Chief of Police.

Q— What do you know about the issuance of orders for the sup-
pression of vice in the Chinese quarter?

A. — There have been orders issued to the captains of the watches,
to instruct the officers to be vigilant and diligent in the suppression
of prostitution and gambling. It is very difficult to suppress gam-
bling, because they resort to so many devices to evade, and Chinese
testimony cannot be obtained. They play with buttons and strips of
paper, and it is hard work to convince a jury that these represent coin.
In regard to the vice of prostitution, I have here a bill of sale of a
Chinawoman, and a translation of the same.

Witness submits a paper written in Chinese characters, and reads
the translation, as follows :

An agreement to assist the woman Ah Ho, because coining from China to San Francisco she
became indebted to her mistress for passage. Ah Ho herself asks Mr. Yee Kwan to advance
for her six hundred and thirty dollars, for which Ah Ho distinctly agrees to give her body to
Mr. Yee for service of prostitution for a term of four years. There shall be no interest <>n tin;
money. Ah 11. > shall receive no wages. At the expiration of four years, Ah Ho shall be her
own master. Mr. Yee Kwan shall not hinder or trouble her. If Ah Ho runs away before her
time is out, her mistress shall find her and return her, and whatever expense is incurred in
finding and returning her, Ah Ho shall pay. On this day of agreement Ah Ho. with her own
hands, has received from Mr. Yee Kwan six hundred and thirty dollars. II' Ah Ho shall be
sick al te for more than ten days, she shall make, up by an extra month of service for

every ten days' sickness. Now this agreement has proof — this paper received by Ah Ho is
witness.

TUNG CHEE.

Twelfth year, ninth month, and fourteenth day (about middle of October, eighteen Mildred

and seventy-three).

The Chinese women are kept in confinement more by fear than by
anything else. They believe the contracts to be good and binding,
and fear the consequences of any attempt at escape. An ordinance
was made to cover this kind of a contract, See municipal ordi-
nances, section forty-two : "It shall be unlawful for any person to
sell, or attempt to sell, propose, threaten, or offer to sell any human
being; to claim the services, possession, or person of any human
being, except as authorized by law; to solicit, persuade, or induce
any person to be or remain in a state of servitude, except as author-

ized by law, whether such person receives partial compensation or no
compensation ; to be, enter, remain, or dwell in any brothel or house
of ill-fame, except for a lawful purpose; on account of any real
or pretended debt due, or pretended to be due, by any person, or
any passage money paid for, or money advanced to any person,
whether in this State or elsewhere, to hold or attempt to hold the
person, or claim the services or possession of any human being,
except in cases authorized by law : to exercise or attempt to exercise
any control over any human being, except as authorized by law; to
demand or receive from anj^ person, any human being, or any money,
or thing of value, for or on account of any real or pretended claim
to the person, possession, or services of any person who was bought,
sold, held, claimed, or attempted to be held or claimed in violation
of this section ; to threaten any person for receiving, harboring,
assisting, or marrying any person who was bought, sold, held, claimed,
or attempted to be held or claimed in violation of this section; to
threaten any person for not paying or promising to pay any demand
for money, or any thing of value, made in violation of this section ;
to threaten any person for not restoring or delivering, or promising to
restore or deliver, to the claimant, or his agent, any person who had
been bought, sold, held, claimed, or attempted to be held or claimed
in violation of this section." Under that ordinance we have taken
several convictions, and sent the parties to jail.

Leung Cook sworn.

Charles Jamison sworn as interpreter.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?

A. — About four years altogether.

Q,. — What is your business?

A. — Keeping — occupied in store of Tung-ching-lung Company, on
Commercial Street.

Q, — Do you know anything about the organization of the six com-
panies — are you a member of either one, and if so, state which one?

A. — I am employed in the Ning-yeung Company as officer. I
have general charge of thai company — write letters, send letters for
my countrymen, ta'ke charge of their mail, etc. I am President of
that company. When Chinese first came to this country, knowing
nothing of the language, they found it difficult to get along, and the
company was organized to assist them in getting employment and in
going from place to place. It has been in existence since the fourth
year of the reign of Ham-fung — about twenty-two years.

Q. — Has this company any office in any part of China?

A. — No, because it don't need it. Its sole object is to look after
( 'hinamen here.

Q. — How many members have that company?

A. — Since the reign of Ham-fung, the fourth year, till the reign of
the present Emperor, twenty-two years, there were seventy-live thou-
sand members. There are thirty thousand or forty thousand here
now ; the rest went back to China.

Q. — How many head men have the company had since it has been
in existence ?

A. — I do not remember exactly. I think in the neighborhood of
twenty. There is a change of President every year. The merchants
do the voting — the merchants who belong to the Ning-yeung Com-
pany.

Q. — How do Chinese laboring men get here?

A. — They come of their own accord and pay their own passage.

Q. — Where do they get the money to pay ?

A. — They are industrious and save their wages.

Q — Is not the money used by some of these people advanced to
them and then collected here by these companies?

A.— No, sir; the company has no passage to pay for them.

(,). — Are there not men in China who contract to pay passage here
and the < 'hinamen here have to pay the money back to them?

A. — I don't know about that.

Q. — Do the women who come here pay their own passage ?

A. — About the women I don't know at all.

Q.— Is there a separate company for bringing women here?

A. — About that I don't know at all.

Q. — Did you ever see a contract like that. [Shows witness con-
tract submitted by Mr. Clark, relating to the woman Ah Ho.]

A.— No, sir.

Q.— Do you know that there are Chinese prostitutes in this city?

A. — There are Chinese prostitutes here; how many, I don't know,
because I ain't in that line of business. You can find that out by
inquiring of the officers on that beat. [Witness was handed contract
referred to, which he read, and which being at the same time inter-
preted, read substantially the same as the translation as above set
forth in the testimony of Mr. Clark.]

Q,. — Don't you know that all these prostitutes come here under
such contracts as this?

A. — I do not know about such business.

Q. — Have you ever heard of this business here ?

A. — No, sir ; not at all.

Q.— Who is it that makes up the company to which you belong?

A. — Myself, inspector and cook — three members, officers.

Q. — Who pays the expenses?

A. — Subscription among the Chinese merchants.

Q. — Do you know what a coolie is in China.

A.— No, sir.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — From the State of Kwang-tung (Canton), in the District of
Sung-ning.

Q. — Do the Chinese here come from there?

A. — Most of the Chinese here come from Kwang-tung (Canton).

Q. — Why do they send the bones back to China — the bones of dead
Chinamen ?

A. — It is a custom to do so. They think a good deal of the remains
of deceased persons, and when a person finishes his life, they take
his remains back to China to show to some of his relations in order
to have them remember and do honor to them.

Q. — Who pays for sending them back?

A. — Subscriptions from the Chinese merchants.

Q. — Do you know anything about gambling ?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do you keep a book of the names of the members of your
company ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Why is it that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company refuses to
5

sell tickets to Chinamen unless they have the stamp of the compa-
nies ?

A. — When my countrymen come to California, my company takes
care of them, pays their hoarding and lodging expenses. For this
they collect, afterwards, from each man, live dollars. That is consid-
ered to pay back the amount due the company for its advances, for
expense, and its trouble. When they pay it they get a paper or permit,
and can then buy tickets. Where men are sick, poor and unfortu-
nate, they remit the live dollars and give the permit anyhow. Where
men are in debt to anybody, and the company finds it out, it will not
give the permit. If the debtors are too poor to pay, they are allowed
to go.

Q. — Is any part of Canton as dirty as it is here in the Chinese
quarter ?

A. — In Canton it is clean. It is not dirty like it is here. In the
interior of China, it is not so clean — in the villages.

Q. — Do you know of any villages in China so dirty as the Chinese
quarter in this city'.''

A. — Some places are clean and some dirty.

Q. — Why don't they keep clean here, when they have plenty of
water to do it with?

A. — The workmen occupy all their time in labor, and do not have
any time to keep their places clean.

Q. — Is not half that population around the streets during the day?

A. — I do not know; I did not notice particularly. Very likely
there are some.

Q. — Do you know anything about these Chinamen converted to
Christianity?

A. — Some are Christians.

Q. — Do you discover any difference in those men from other men,
in business transactions, or the social relations?

A. — I don't see any difference.

Q, — How many Christians are there?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do you know twenty?

A. — I only know one person — Chin Quay. He is in San Jose,
preaching.

Q. — How do the Chinese, generally, regard those who have turned
Christians ?

A. — -I don't know whether they regard them in a friendly way or
not.

Q, — Don't they consider the Christian Chinamen as thieves and
hypocrites?

A. — I don't know.

Max Morgenthau sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in this city?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty.

Q. — What has been your business?

A. — Principally manufacturing. I am interested in three or four
factories — the Mission Woolen Mills, Pioneer Woolen Mills, jute fac-
tory across the bay, and the candle and soap factory.

Q. — How many men do you employ?

A. — In the neighborhood of two thousand.

Q. — How many Chinamen ?

A. — Nearly half.

Q, — How do the wages of the white men compare with those of the
Chinamen ?

A. — They are from two hundred to three hundred per cent, higher.

Mr. Pierson — How does their labor compare with that of the
whites?

A. — It depends upon the kind of labor. In weaving, the China-
man gets very little until he learns the business: then we give him
from ninety cents to one dollar twelve and a half cents per day. If we
had to employ only white men, we could not run our factories — we
would have to stop them. The whites do more work than the Chinese,
and even where the experience is the same they do more. We have
women who run two looms. Some Chinamen are good weavers, but
many are not. We pay by the hour, so the ones who do the most
work earn the most money. When we want Chinamen, we go to
some company and say we want so many men, and we get them.
Their wages we pay to the company, or the man who gets them for
us. taking his receipt.

Q. — What effect do you think the presence of these Chinese labor-
ers has had upon the working classes?

A. — I have come to the conclusion that this immigration will, in
the course of time, be a very serious thing for this State. My opinion
up to this time is, that they have been of great advantage to this
coast. I know what difficulty we had with this white labor. We
started witli white labor. Cue day, some three years ago, we con-
cluded to put some boys to work ; so, put in eighty-five seAving
machines, and employed that many boys. One day I found all the
sewing machines empty. I asked the superintendent what was the
matter — where were the boys; and he said that they had all left him.
1 asked on what grounds. He said that they generally stopped at
twelve o'clock, but the boys did not come back when their hour was
up. Some came at two o'clock, some later, and some not for two
days. They nearly all came back at last, and were asked why they
acted so. They -aid they were off on a pleasure trip around the bay.
He said that they must not do so again, for if they did we could not
go on with the work. Two or three expressed themselves as dissatis-
fied with this, and said: " Boys, let's take our hats and jackets, and
let them go to hell." So the boys left. I have no love for the China-
men, but we can have no control over the white boys.

Q. — When you first employed Chinese labor, there were very few
boys in the country, and very little female labor?

A.— Yes, sir.

<,>. — So that Chinese labor was a make-shift, in the first place?

A. — Yes; and we were glad to get it, I will say now, that if this
immigration keeps up, it will affect the country disastrously. I have
read the newspapers, and listened to a good many speakers, but have
not been able to see my way out, A few years ago some gentlemen
came here from the Eastern States, and I gave them money to start a
candle and soap factory. For ten or eleven months we did not hire
a single Chinaman. Men would come to me and ask for work, and I
would give it to them — paying green hands one dollar and fifty cents
per day. Before they learned they generally caused much damage in
waste of material and breakage of machinery. I engaged ten or
eleven girls to do easy work, paying them at the start ninety cents a
day. I made it my business to go out there every morning at half

past six o'clock to see thai steam was up, and one morning found all
the girls gone. 1 was told they had taken a holiday on account of
somebody. I said "I know what holidays are ; we have Sundays,
Fourth of July, Christmas, New Year, and even "St. Patrick's Day.
but this man I never heard of. Didn't the girls give you some no-
tice ?" " They did not give us notice," I was told, " they simply did
not come." He told them they would have to stop that, and they
wouldn't do it, so we were compelled to discharge every one of them.
They thought it was better fun bumming around in the street instead
of earning an honest living. I came from Bavaria, and there every
boy must learn a trade, no matter whether his father has five dollars,
or fifty millions of dollars.

Q — Don't the Chinese fill the places in the lighter employments
usually filled by boys and girls — and is not that a cause of hoodlum-
ism ?

A. — That is their own fault, if it is so. I don't know.

Q. — Suppose the Chinese should start to work in Bavaria, as they
have here

A. — I don't think that government would submit to it. If the Chi-
nese flowed in upon them it would compel them to take care of their
own people.

Mr. Haymond — Don't you think it is bad to have a class of immi-
gration into any country, where they come for the purpose of acquir-
ing a little money, bringing no families, and never buying land?

A. — I have hoped for the last six or eight years that the Chinese
would come here with their wives, raise children, educate them as
our own children are educated, cut off their queues, and dress like
us, but I think that cannot be. They consume much of our produce,
and a large portion of our manufactures are used by them, however.
During certain months of the year we make nothing but cassimeres
for the Chinese. . Whatever wages they can save they send to China,
yet they necessarily spend considerable here. If we could not employ
Chinese we would have to stop work for the present, and people would
have to send abroad for these goods. That would be as bad as send-
ing the money to China.

Mr. Donovan — Would it not be better for the American people to
have goods made East, by whites, than by the Chinese, in California?

A. — My principle is, that charity should commence at home.

Q. — Your idea is, that we should make a few men who own stock
in these companies rich, while we would ruin the country?

A. — The manufacturers would not get rich. Our superintendents
have received instructions to put white people to work wherever it
can be done to advantage. There is no reason why we should go
elsewhere for our goods, for we have here all the materials for
making better goods than Ave can import profitably. A great deal of
raw material is exported East, and imported in the shape of manu-
factured articles; but the competition is such as to cause goods to be
as cheap here as elsewhere. Of course, we get what we can. We
must do it to keep up business. If we had no factories here, we
would have to pay more for the goods than we do now. The fact
that we make these goods forces Eastern men to put things down to
the lowest prices. A short time ago I started a burlap factory. Last
year I lost fifty thousand dollars, because I had to give the farmers
bags for nine and a half cents, where it cost eleven cents to produce
them. If the factories were not here, commission men would put

up the prices; and preventing that, lost us fifty thousand dollars.
All the other burlaps used arc made at Dundee.

Mr. McCoppin — Rave you visited the Chinese quarter at all?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — Nave you observed the habits of the Chinese?

A. — I have.

Q.— Are they cleanly?

A. — No, sir; the way they carry on is a great shame. They are
here in the heart of the city, and are a. great nuisance. I have lived
near here for nineteen years; but if they come closer, I will have to
leave my home. They live crowded together in small rooms, on
filthy alleys. I don't believe many places that I know have been
dry or clean for ten years — never clean. I have mentioned the thing
to the Chief of Police ; but he explains to me how he has no control
over them.

Alfred Clark recalled.

Mr. Haymond — Mr. Clark, anything additional that you have to ,
state we will now hear.

A. — I wish to state regarding Chinese women.

Q. — Suppose a Chinawoman escapes, what do the owners do ?

A. — Follow her, and take her back. If they fail, they generally
have her arrested for larceny, and get possession in that way. They
use the processes of our Courts to keep these women in a state of
slavery. They do not let them get out of their clutches, however, if
they can help it, for they know that there is no legal way of reclaim-
ing them. When they become sick and helpless, there are instances
where they have been turned out to die. The bones of women are
not returned to China, as are the bones of the men. The six compa-
nies do not control this woman business ; it is under the management
of an independent company, called the Hip-ye-tong. Whether they
import the women or not, I don't know T , but they look after affairs
here. A Chinaman married a woman at Gibson's, and after the mar-
riage received notice that he must pay for the woman or be dealt
with according to the Chinese custom. He was made to believe that
he would suffer personally if he did not comply with their demands.
Acting upon information, we arrested a number of them, and go1
some of their books, which we had translated. On the rolls, I think
there were one hundred and seventy women. Seven or eight China-
men were arrested, but all the witnesses we could get for the prosecu-
tion did not exceed three or four, and no conviction was had. I think
at about that time this ordinance which I read in my testimony
before, was passed.

Q. — Assuming the population of the Chinese in this city to be
twenty-five thousand or thirty thousand, w T hat proportion belongs to
the criminal class ?

A. — Those violating the laws by gambling, prostitution, and thiev-
ing will be more than ten per cent. The total number of arrests for
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five,
was sixteen thousand eight hundred and twenty, of which number
the Chinese were one thousand one hundred and eighty-four. Nearly
every Chinaman breaks the laws and the ordinances of the city, but
we cannot catch them so as to convict. In relation to the sale of
women, in searching amongst the papers in the office, I found another

bill of sale, drawn to gel around the ordinance above referred to. It
was translated, and reads as follows:

w AGREEMENT TO ASSIST \ STOUNG CUM. NAMED LO] Y.H".

Because she became indebted to her mistress for passage, food, etc., and lias nothing to pay,
she makes her body over to the woman, Sep Sam, to serve as a prostitute to make out the sum
of five hundred and three dollars. The money shall draw no interest, and Loi Yau shall serve
four and one-half years. On this day of agreement, Loi Van receives the sum of five hundred
ami three dollars in her own hands. When the time is out, Loi Yau may It her own master,
and no man shall trouble her. If she runs away before the time is out, and any expense is
incurred in catching her, then Loi Yau must pay the expense, [f she is sick fifteen days or
more, she shall make up one mouth lor every fifteen days. If Sep Sam shall go hack to China,
thru Loi 5fau shall serve another party tiil her time is out; if, in such service, she should lie
sick one hundred 'lays or more, ami cannot lie cured, she may return to Sep Sam's place. For

proof of this agreement . this paper.

I »ated second, sixth month of the present year. L( >I YA U.

This prostitution is carried on under just such QM^tracts as that,
We got that contract from a Chinawoman brought in. I think there
was a prosecution and conviction in this case, under the ordinance.

(,>. — What is the condition of the Chinese quarters?

A. — Very dirty. The dirt is taken from the streets by scavengers
paid by the Chinese for that purpose. In the buildings, however, we
find much filth and dirt. Regarding lotteries, they draw them fre-
quently. Tickets are sold for five cents and upwards, and the draw-
ings are twice a day. We have made arrests, but the accused have
demanded jury trials, and made their trials difficult and tedious.

Q. — Have you ever heard of the bribery of officers by the Chinese?

A. — I have heard of such things, but investigations always failed
to fasten the crime on anybody. The special police system has its
evils, but it does much good. It would be impossible to keep down
crime, and secure the partial administration of justice in the Chinese
quarter, if we had to depend upon our own regular force. That issmall
enough now. To suppress crime, there would require a force which
would cost the city much money. The specials make a great many
arrests, but our best reliance would be on regulars if we could spare
them from other parts of the city. It is possible to arrest a great
many offenders, but to convict them is another thing. Crime cannot
be entirely suppressed in the Chinese quarter without having a
largely increased police force, and an additional number of Courts.
The business of prostitution can, even now, be made unprofitable to
a considerable extent. But when the officers would leave their beats
these houses would all open again. After all, so many of these peo-
ple are law-breakers that it would require a small army of police to
look after them, were we to try to weed out crime altogether. The
effect of this large criminal population is very injurious on the
morals of the community. There is ten per cent, of the Chinese
population that makes up the gamblers, prostitutes, and thieves.

Lee Ming Hown sworn. Charles Jamison interpreter.
Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?
x\. — Four years.
Q. — What is your business?

A. — Been teaching for Gibson. Am now President of the Sam-yup
Company.

< w >. — How long?

A. — Almost a year.

Q. — How* many members have that company?

A. — In the neighborhood of eleven thousand. Some live in San
Francisco, and others in various places.

Q. — I low did they come hero'/

A. — They heard that everybody in California made a fortune, so
they came here. If they have means, they pay their own passage;
if not, they borrow from others. They sell their farms and property
to get here. If they have no property, and can't borrow, they don't
come.

Q. — How long do they stay here?

A. — They go back when they make a fortune. Some have been
here ten and twenty years.

Q. — How much is a fortune?

A. — No limit. Some make a low hundred, and some a few thou-
sand, and call it a fortune.

Q. — What Were you doing at Gibson's?

A. — 1 am not there now. I am in the company. I was at Gibson's
when i landed, and staid there until last year.

Mr. McCoppin — What are Gibson's relations to the Chinamen?

A. — Teaching them English and telling them about Christianity —
making Chinamen Christians.

Q. — How many ( Jhristians has he made?

A. — About more than ten. (Over ten and under twenty.)

Q. — Out of sixty thousand Chinese in California?

A. — He has taught a good many to be Christians, but only more
than ten (over ten and under twenty) have become Christians.

Q. — How long has Brother Gibson been preaching the gospel to the
Chinese?

A. — About ten years, I think, in San Francisco. Whether he
preached anywhere else or not, I don't know.

Mr. Haymond — How many of the See-yup Company are Christians?

A. — Most of the Christians belong to the See-yup Company.

Q. — How many?

A. — More than ten. (Between ten and twenty.)

Q. — Are you a Christian?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — What wages do workingmen get in China?

A. — Superior situations get eight dollars to ten dollars per month,
and the inferior kind two dollars or three dollars a month.

Q. — Do they board themselves ?

A. — Boarded by the employer.

Q,. — How much does it take to support the family of a laboring
man per month ?

A. — At least one dollar for each individual.

Q, — How much does it take to support the same class here?

A. — In San Francisco the lowest is about six dollars each, for board-
ing alone.

0. — How many Chinamen bring their wives to this country?

A. — There are a few hundred married women here.

Q. — How many prostitutes?

A. — I imagine about one thousand, or a few hundred more.

Q. — Who oavu these women.

A. — Don't know. I imagine some belong to themselves, but others
are owned by some one else.

Q. — How do they get these women?

A. — I don't know much about this kind of business, but I imagine
some come here by their consent, while others are bought.

Q. — Are any stolen ?

A. — I think not.

Q. — What do they do with those women when they get sick and
unable to make more money, and are about to die ?

A. — Taken care of by the owner.

Q. — Do any of these women go back to China?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What becomes of these women when the police close up the
houses of prostitution ?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — How many Chinese gamblers are there in this city?

A. — I do not know.

Q. — Is any part of Canton as dirty and filthy as the ( 'hinese part of
this town ?

A. — It is about the same.

Q. — Do you rent houses of prostitution?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Where does your company get its money ?

A. — By subscription from the stores.

Mr. Mc( 'oppin — How long have you been at the head of your com-
pany ?

A. — About one year.

Q. — How often do they change?

A. — Once a year. Sometimes a man is chosen for a second and a
third term.

Q. — Who elects officers'.''

A. — The merchants— members of the company.

Q. — How much salary do they pay the President?

A. — Eighty dollars a month.

< I — What does the President do?

A. — Attends to new comers, persons not acquainted with the lan-
guage of this country, and assists those who want help — such as the
sick and disabled.

Q. — What must a Chinaman do before he can go home to China by
steamer?

A. — He can go by letting the company know of it, He must have
the permit of the company. But some go without permits — such as
actors, sailors, etc.

Q. — When was this arrangement made with the steamship com-
pany?

A. — Since the first voyage of a China steamer.

Q. — What does the Sam-yup Company do with one of its members
that commits a crime?

A. — If they found it out they would deliver him to the authorities
at the City Hall. W^e don't deliver him up ourselves, but get an offi-
cer to take possession of him.

Q. — When have you done that ?

A. — That is the rule, but my company has not done anything of
that kind yet.

< i — When do you propose to commence?

A— Can't tell.

Q. — If one of that company steals from another, or whips another,
don't they settle it with money— make him pay for the injury'/

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do any gamblers belong to your company ?

A. — I don't know. Very likely there may be some.

Q. — Do you know of Chinamen paying anything to Americans to
be allowed to gamble?

A. — Don't know. That kind of gambling business the people don't
dare to let the company know anything about.

Q.— Why?

A. — They belong to the inferior classes, and will not let the com-
pany know. If they told us we would advise them to discontinue.

Ah You sworn. Charles Jamison interpreter.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in California'.''

A. — About twenty-eight years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come ?

A. — Canton.

Q. — What is your business?

A. — I occupy a place where they manufacture jewelry.

Q, — Have you ever collected any money, and paid it to anybody in
order to get leave to keep gambling-houses open?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do you know of anybody that has?

A— No, sir.

Q. — How do the working classes of Chinamen get here ?

A. — Some come here by their own money, and others by borrowing
from their friends and relatives. When they make the money here,
they send it back in a letter to the friend that lent it,

Q. — What are coolies in China ?

A. — Men employed to cany things. When there is nothing to
carry, they do farm-work.

Q. — Are there any of that sort of people in California?

A. — Maybe once in a while you will come across two or three.

Q. — Who does the carrying here?

A. — Men that have no particular business. Sometimes they do
their own carrying, and sometimes they hire Chinamen.

Q. — How many Chinese women here are married?

A.— Good many.

Q. — About how many ?

A. — How many I don't remember exactly. A few hundred.

Q. — How many women are in houses of prostitution ?

A. — I don't know — two or three hundred.

Q. — Are there not one thousand?

A. — Some have gone up to the mountains.

Q. — Who owns these women?

A. — Don't know.

Q. — Are they bought and sold here ?

A. — Don't know.

Q, — Have you ever heard of anybody being sold ?

A— No, sir.

Q. — Do these women come of their own will ?

A. — By their own consent ; and do you suppose they were forced
to come here ?

Mr. Mc( 'oppin — Have you told anybody that you raised money to
pay for the privilege of carrying on gambling?

A— No. sir.

Q. — Did you tell officer Rogers that?

A.— \<>. sir.

Q. — Did you tell Rogers you paid five hundred dollars a

month ?

A.— No, sir; I told Mr. Rogers, if I had any trouble, I would get
to. attend to it.

Mr. Haymond — What did you expect to have trouble about?

A. — Gambling-houses.

Q. — What would the Sam-yup Company do if they found a Sam-
vup man conducting gambling?

A.— Tell him to quit.

Q. — Suppose that he wouldn't quit.

A. — The company has no power to stop it. The company have
posted notices on the street, telling gamblers to stop.

Q. — When were those notices posted?

A. — A little over a week.

Q. — And it was stopped?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Arc you a Christian?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — About how many Christian Chinamen have you known in the
last twenty-eight years?

A. — A little over one hundred. Some of these were false Chris-
tians, and some true. Some only protended.

Q. — Why do they pretend?

A. — Sometimes so they can kidnap women easier. They have
better chance then.

Mr. Donovan — -Did you ever take a woman away?

A.— No, sir.

Q.. — Did you ever sell a woman ?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Did you ever keep a house of prostitution?

A.— No, sir.

(,). — WYre you associated for months with persons in a house 01
prostitution ?

A. — No, sir ; I have a wife.

Q. — Do you know that man (officer Thomas Kennedy)?

A. — I have seen him.

Q. — Did you ever tell this man that the house in which prostitutes
were living belonged to you?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — Diet you ever tell officer Kennedy that you were paying officer
Duffield money for guarding his house, and could not pay him any?

A. — I was interpreting for another person. It was not my state-
ment, but that of some other person.

Mr. Haymond — You never told officer Rogers that you paid some-
body five hundred dollars, or any amount of money, to protect gam-
bling-houses ?

A. — No. <ir. Sometime Mr. Rogers was collecting money for this
kind of business, but he was going to not attend to it. Some parties
paid him three hundred dollars. Three Chinese persons gave it to
him. Two gave it and three were present — Ah Hung, Ah Chune,
and myself.

Q,— When was that?

A. — About twenty-three months ago. It was given to him in the

7--.

rear of Gum Wo's store. I was not there as owner of gambling-
houses, or houses, but as a witness, to see that money paid.

Mr. Rogers himself came to me and wanted me to be a witness that
the money was paid. He told me to tell the Chinamen to subscribe
a few dollars for his benefit and he would stop arresting.

Q.— Did Rogers get that money then ?

A. — No, sir; they put it away then, but came and got it.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know Mr. ?

A. — He is my counsel.

Q, — Did you ever give him live hundred dollars?

A. — Yes, to work up murder cases, for the Yu-chuy-lung. They
employed him to convict the murderers. Four men are under
arrest for murdering one man, and these men are the ones they
wanted convicted. Deceased belonged to the Kwo-ye-tong, or shoe-
makers. Three of the murderers are bailed out in fifteen thousand
dollars, but one is in jail.

Thomas Kennedy sworn.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know the Chinaman who last testified (Ah
You)? r

A. — Yes. sir.

Q, — What occupation or business lias he been in, to your knowl-
edge ?

A. — I always took him to be boss of a house of prostitution. My
beat used to run from Dupont Street and Jackson

Q. — You are an officer?

A. — Local policeman. There was a small house of prostitution
started on the north side of the Globe Hotel. I went there to secure
my pay, and met this man. He told me he paid George Duffield,
and could not pay me. He claimed to be the proprietor of this
house. He was always around there. There were three women in
that house.

Q. — He claimed he was not running that house. Did you hear
him ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is that a specimen of Chinese swearing ?

A. — Yes, sir: when it is to his interest, a Chinaman will swear to
anything.

Q. — Are you on the force, now ?

A. — No, sir ; not for two months.

James R. Rogeks recalled. .

Witness — It is impossible for any man to tell what are the emolu-
ments of the office of special policemen. They collect all they can
and that amount varies. During the "cubic air" excitement, I
arrested from seventy-five to one hundred Chinamen nightly. They
tried then to have me let up on them but I could not. I had the jails
and the Court crowded day after day, until there were so many that
business was hopelessly behind. Ah You offered me three hundred
dollars, as he says, but I refused to accept it. I pronounce his state-
ments an utter falsity.

Mr. Haymond — Do you know who own the buildings used as
houses of prostitution in the Chinese quarter?

A. — White people, partially.

Mr. Donoyan — Did you hear Ah You swear just now?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is he a fair criterion of the Chinese witness?

A. — Yes, sir. They all swear as their interests may dictate.

SIXTH DAY.

Sax Francisco, April 18th, 1876.

( laptain R. H. Joy sworn.

Mr. Haymond — What is your profession?

A. — Master mariner.

Q, — Of what place are you a native ?

A. — Liverpool. I am a British subject.

Q, — Have you been in China?

A. — Yes, sir. The last time, I was there nine or ten months. I
was master of the steamer Crocus, and am now.

Q. — In your business, were you often brought into contact w T ith
Chinamen ?

A. — Yes, sir ; very often.

Q. — Have you ever been in the City of Canton ?

A. — Yes, on pleasure trips.

Q. — How does the social and moral condition of those people com-
pare with that of the same classes in other countries?

A. — What I saw w T as not very high.

Q. — When did you arrive in California?

A. — Two days ago. I came here in command of the British
steamer Crocus.

Q. — -Did you bring any Chinese passengers?

A. — Yes, sir; eight hundred and eighty-two.

Q. — What is the character of these people ?

A. — They do not hold a very good character in their own country.
They were not so much trouble, however, as the papers have repre-
sented. The accounts as published were highly embellished. We
had a little trouble at first, but very soon stopped that.

Mr. McCoppin — Is this class a desirable one for any country to have?

A. — I don't think it is, because <>i' the low moral condition of the
people.

Q. — Have you been in Australia ?

A. — I have.

Q. — How are the Chinese treated there ?

A. — Not very well. The inhabitants found that they were being
crowded out by the Chinese, and have commenced driving them
from the country. Large numbers are Leaving. I brought two hun-
dred and forty from Singapore, where they came from Australia in
the Brisbane. I left them at Hong-kong.

Q. — In Australia, were separate quarters assigned them ?

A. — They generally congregate together. There are no rules and
regulations requiring them to occupy a separate quarter of the town,
but they do so, naturally.

Q. — In the papers you are credited with having said that all the
Chinese that you brought here were of the very worst classes — the
criminal classes.

A. — No doubt manv of them are very bad. All the ( 'hinese around

Canton are very bad. They are generally fishermen, and when they
can take advantage of anything, they do it.

Q— Will they steal ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do those people come here voluntarily?

A. — Yes. They have an idea that this is a sort of El Dorado, where
they can obtain plenty of money with little work.

Q. — Do they pay their own passage?

A. — I think they do. My steamer is a chartered one, and I bring
it here safely, receiving therefor a salary. I don't know how the pas-
sage money is paid.

Q. — Have you any connection with the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company ?

A. — No, sir. This is a separate company.

Mr. Haymond — In their own country, what was the occupation of
most of these people ?

A. — On the passenger lists they are called laborers. Of course that
is all we know about them.

Mr. Mc( 'oppin — As an Englishman, what would you think if they
were to overrun your country ?

A. — It would behoove the Englishmen to drive them out.

Q.— Why?

A. — They work for low wages, and they are not the class of people
that we would like to have in our own country.

Q. — Why is it they can work for lower wages?

A. — They can live cheaper. A handful of rice, with water, will
suffice for their meals.

Mr. Haymond — How do their morals compare with those of the
English working classes?

A. — They are very much lower in every way.

Q. — What effect, do you think, the introduction of thirty thousand
or forty thousand Chinamen into an English city would have?

A. — Their standard is so much lower, I don't think they would be
allowed in any English city, and I hope never to see that happen.

Q. — In the vicinitj* of Canton, does an immense number of people
live on the rivers ?

A. — Yes. A great many live in boats, following the occupation of
fishermen, and working around the ships.

Q. — What is the character of that people as law-abiding citizens?

A. — The Chinese Government is very rotten, and exercises but
little control over these men. The mandarins levy as much tribute
as they can on the people around them. I suppose they must pay,
in their turn, to some higher authority.

Q. — Are any of them engaged in piracy ?

A. — I would not like to say.

0- — What is the prevailing impression among seamen who visit
that port, as a rule ?

A. — There are very many different opinions. The general opinion
is not very favorable.

Q.. — How do these people compare with the same classes of English
iir ( rerman, about their homes?

A. — They are very much lower — far inferior.

Q. — Are their cities and towns clean or dirty?

A.— Very dirty, indeed. When one has been in a Chinese city
once, he has no ambition to return to it again.

Q. — Have you visited the Chinese quarters in Australia?

A.— Yes, in Melbourne.

Q. — How are they there?

A. — Very dirty. Of course they are compelled to keep the streets
clean, but that is as far as their cleanliness goes. I think the people
are driving them out. now. It is being done by the people them-
selves, not by the government.

Q. — Are there many women imported to that country?

A. — I never saw any women there at all.

Q. — Do you think they would permit the landing of a ship load of
prostitutes?

A. — I think it is most certain that they would not. Four or five
women came on board my ship when I was about to leave, but the
American ( !onsul had them taken onshore. I did not like the looks
of the women, and took their photographs to the Consul. At a glance
he saw what they were and ordered them on shore.

Q. — How did they come on board ?

A. — They came in a boat. They had passenger tickets stamped by
the American Consul, or his deputy. That is required, and in addi-
tion each one is personally examined. These women spoke good
English, and said their husbands were in San Francisco. They were
evidently improper characters, and were sent ashore.

Q. — You think that great injury would be caused by the introduc-
tion of these people into England, or a country like this?

A. — Of course it would in England, but I do not know much about
California. This is my first visit here, and 1 cannot tell much about
how they would affect you.

Q. — You think that a country must be a very bad one to be im-
proved in morals by the addition of Chinamen ?

A. — Decidedly, I think it would.

Q. — Have you met with many converted Chinamen — Chinamen
converted to Christianity?

A. — I have -een some who pretended to be converted, but I would
not vouch for their earnestness. I took some missionaries out with
me from London — two ladies. I took them to Shanghai, where they
were going to try to convert the heathen.

Q. — So far a-- your knowledge goes, what success has attended mis-
sionary labors in China ?

A. — I do not think it has had any success. If }~ou pay the China-
men they will believe anything you desire, so long as the money
lasts. Take away that incentive, and they relapse into heathenism
and idolatry. I think that attempting to convert Chinamen is a
piece of most foolish nonsense. I don't think there is any possibility
of their becoming converted to Christianity.

Mr. Lewis — Are the Chinamen whom you have seen " converted,"
of any better morals than the unconverted?

A. — I saw one who appeared to be improved, but whether he was
sincere or not, I do not know.

Q. — AYas he engaged in missionary work?

A. — lie was preaching.

Q. — And got pay for it?

A. — I believe he did.

<,). — Do they measure morals, generally, by interest?

A. — I believe that is so.

\Y. JT. Kinsella sworn.

Mr. Haymond — What is your occupation?

A. — ( 'I lief officer of the Crocus.

Q. — Have you ever been in China?

A. — Yes. sir. The last time ten months.

Q. — You are a British subject?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — 1 )<> you know the class of Chinese who emigrate to this country?

A. — I n ceived them on board ship and looked after them after-
wards, keeping them in good order.

Mr. McCoppin — Where were you born?

A. — Liverpool.

Q. — What would your fellow-citizens think if eight thousand or ten
thousand a year of these fellows were placed on your docks?

A. — They wouldn't find room.

Q. — Liverpool is a large city, is it not?

A. — Yes; it has over five hundred thousand people, but is so well
filled up that I don't think there would be any room for Chinamen.

<l — Would the people permit such a thing?

A. — I hardly think so. There is just about room for the whites
there now.

Q — Would such people have any injurious effect on the morals of
England ?

A. — The Chinese morals are very low, but I cannot say that an old
established country, like England, would be affected much.

Mr. Lewis — Suppose a great many of them were to be introduced
into the manufacturing establishments, displacing white boys and
girls — -would that be injurious?

A. — Most certainly.

Mr. Haymond — Have you ever seen any Chinamen who had been
converted to Christianity?

A. — The one whom the captain mentioned.

Q. — Is he the only one you saw in ten months?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Are there many missionaries in Hong-kong?

A. — That is a British port, and has about as many missionaries as
any European town ordinarily has.

<.,». — h has a large Chinese population?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How docs the Chinese city of Canton compare with Liverpool,
in point of cleanliness?

A. — I was there only four hours.

Q. — What is the reputation of the class of people who come here?

A. — I do not know much about that, and cannot give you any posi-
tive information on that point.

<,). — What is the received opinion of seamen?

A. — I cannot say. They are generally supposed to leave nothing
that they can carry away.

Q. — How would they treat a merchant ship, lying unarmed?

A. — They would try to get the best of it and make what they could.
Where a ship goes ashore she is stripped in very short order. They
stripped a boat a year ago in that way.

Q.— Would the introduction of many thousands of these Chinese
injuriously affect the morals of a country?

A. — Not those of a very old country. How it would affect a new

country I can't say. In Australia they needed cheap labor to develop
the place.

Q— Have the Chinese any such thing as moral restraint?

A.— No, sir ; not so far as I have observed them. If they can get
the best of you in anything they will do it, When caught committing
crimes they are very severely punished, though no especial effort is
made to ferret out wrong-doing. Beheading is a favorite punishment
with the Chinese Government,

Q— Would not such a class of Chinese as come here rind England
rather a warm place for them?

A.— Well, yes.

Q- — How do you treat these fellows on board ship when they be-
come obstreperous ?

A.— Put a few in irons, and the rest become meek.

David Supple sworn.

Mr. Haymond—JIow long have you resided in California?

A.— Twenty-seven years next May. I have lived in this city all
the time.

Q. — What is your occupation ?

A. — Previous to coming on the police, I was a stevedore.

Q. — How long have you been on the police ?

A. — Seven years.

Q— Do you know anything about the Chinese quarters of this
city ?

A.— I have had a little experience with the Chinese,

Q— What is the condition of that part of the city, in regard to
cleanliness?

A. — Beastly.

Q. — How do the people live ?

A.— They live in small places, more like hogs than human beings.

Q— What proportion of the people belong to the criminal classes-
engaged in prostitution, gambling, violating city ordinances, and
laws relating to health ?

A. — About the whole of them.

Q. — How many families are there among the Chinese 7

A.— Very few. I have never seen a decent, respectable China-
woman in my life.

Q. — What is the understanding here in regard to the manner in
which these women are held?

A— They are held in bondage, bought and sold. I have had bills
of sale translated by Gibson.

Q — Is it possible for these women to escape from that life, even if
they desire it?

A —Sometimes the Chief of Police can give some protection, but
it is customary for the owners to charge them with crimes in order
to get possession of them again. Sometimes they kidnap them, and
even unscrupulous white men have been found to assist them.

C>— Do you know what they do with them when they become sick
and helpless ?

A.— They put them out on the street to die. I have had charge of
the dead myself, on the street, I have seen sick and helpless women
turned out in that way.

Q.— What is the general reputation of the Chinese in regard to
truth and veracity?

A. — I have never yet seen a Chinaman that I would be willing to

believe under oath/ That is their general reputation. They will
testily whichever way their interests may require. That has been
my experience, and the experience of everybody with whom I have
had any conversation, whether private citizens or officer-.

Q. — Do you know whether they are accustomed to interfere with
the administration of justice?

A.— I understand that they do. Each of the different companies
has rules and regulations for the government of its members.

Q. — If these regulations are violated, how are the offenders
punished — how do they enforce their rules?

A.— I cannot tell. The general understanding is, that they punish
men in some way or other. All our efforts to find out their secret
tril mnals have failed. We don't understand their language, and that
makes it hard work for us to learn anything definitely.

C>.— Do you know anything about boys of twelve and fourteen
years of age visiting houses of prostitution in the Chinese quarter?

A.— Yes, sir; Ave have them fairly crippled — going about the city,
hardly able to put one foot before the other.

Q.— Then the moral effect of the presence of this population is
very bad ?

A. — It is ruinous to the community.

Q.— Do you know anything about any Christian Chinamen in this
community?

A. — I have seen one — a Catholic clergyman — but he was the only
one I ever knew. I have seen others on the street corners, singing
and praying, but I could not say how sincere they were.

Q. — < 'an the city ordinances be enforced in the Chinese quarter?

A.— Yes ; with a sufficient police force.

Q— Do you know anything about the number of Chinese engaged
in the manufacture of clothing, cigars, etc.?

A. — No, sir. I have seen the prostitutes sitting in their houses
working button-holes for the business houses. They generally work
on cheap slop-clothing. Even the young girls in these houses of
prostitution are engaged in this work.

Q. — How many are engaged in this business?

A. — All the prostitutes.

Q. — How many men are engaged in making shoes, cigars, etc., in
this city ?

A. — I suppose they must number fifteen thousand men.

(,>. — You don't know how many in each trade?

A. — No, sir. I know that Ave have eighteen thousand or twenty
thousand hoys and girls in this city who are growing up for the State
Prison and houses of prostitution for want of employment, because
the Chinese have filled all the places.

Alexander Badlam sworn.
Mr. Haymond — What is your business?
A. — Assessor of San Francisco.
Q. — For how long ?
A. — A little over a year.

Q. — What is the total value of the property assessed here?
A. — Not far from three hundred million dollars.
Q. — How much property is assessed to the Chinese ?
6

A. — I think their personal property amounts to about five hundred
thousand dollars. The real estate probably amounts to one hundred
and fifty thousand or two hundred thousand dollars. The popula-
tion of this city is probably, two hundred and thirty thousand — from
two hundred and thirty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand.
The Chinese number about thirty thousand, and pay only about one
three-thousandths part of the tax.

Q. — Do you know who own this Chinese quarter?

A. — Yes, sir. [Witness submitted a list of property owners.]

Q. — What is the general character of this population — is it good or
bad?

A.— Bad, I think.

Q. — Do you know whether rentals are high in the Chinese quarters ?

A. — -The Chinese pay better rents because they can crowd so many
into so small a space.

Q. — How long have you resided in this city?

A. — Twelve years.

Q. — How many Christian Chinamen have you seen?

A. — I don't know that I ever saw any.

Q. — In your judgment, what effect has this population on the
morals of the youths of this community ?

A.— I think the effect is bad upon young and old. They are a very
undesirable class of people. Their statements cannot be depended
upon. They pay little tax, and endeavor in every way to evade
even that.

Q. — Are they disposed to acquire property?

A. — I think that recently the} 7 have discovered that large interest
can be made on their money by leasing land and putting up brick
houses, and some are doing it. At present the real estate owned by
them will not exceed in value two hundred thousand dollars.

I). J. Murphy sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in this city?

A. — Over twenty-two years.

Q. — What is your profession ?

A. — Attorney-at-law.

Q. — What official positions have you held in this city ?

A. — District Attorney two years, and I am in my second term now.

Q. — In your official capacity, have you been brought into contact
with Chinese ?

A.— Yes. sir; I have looked on my docket for two years, and 1 find
that of seven hundred eases that I examined before the Grand Jury,
one hundred and twenty were Chinese, principally burglaries, grand
larcenies, and murders — chiefly burglary. They are very adroit and
expert thieves. I have not had time to examine for the last two
and a half years, but the proportion has largely increased during
that time.

(,). — Do you find any difficulty in the administration of justice,
where they are concerned ?

A. — Yes, sir. In capital eases, particularly, we are met with per-
jury. I have no doubt but that they act under the direction of
superiors, and swear as ordered. In many cases witnesses are spir-
ited away, or alibis are proven. They can produce so many witnesses
as to create a doubt in the minds of jurymen, and thus escape justice.
In cases where I have four or five witnesses for the prosecution, they

will bring in ten or fifteen on the part of the defense. They seem to
think that numbers must succeed, and it very frequently so happens.
It frequently occurs that before the Grand Jury, or on preliminary
examination, witnesses swear so as to convict, but on the trial they
turn square around and swear the other way. I have heard it said
that they have secret tribunals where they settle all these things, but
I know nothing of that. It is my impression that something of the
kind exists, and I think they sometimes use our Courts to enforce
their decrees. I have had to appeal to Executive clemency for par-
don for Chinamen sent to the State Prison by false swearing, under
circumstances which led me to believe them to have been the victims
of some organization of that kind.

Q. — Innocent men can be convicted?

A. — Yes; and I have no doubt innocent men are convicted through
the medium of perjury and "jobs" fixed up on them. I have had
doubts, during the last three months, in cases of magnitude, involv-
ing long terms of imprisonment.

Q, — Among reputable lawyers of this city, who have had expe-
rience with Chinese testimony in the Courts, what value has that
testimony, standing by itself?

A. — By itself, and without being corroborated by extrinsic facts or
white testimony, it is very unreliable.

Q. — That is the opinion of the better class of lawyers ?

A.— That is my opinion, and 1 have had considerable experience
with them.

Q, — Do you know any Christian Chinamen?

A. — The only one I saw was a clergyman— Father Tom — in years
gone by. A great many go to Christian churches and Sunday-schools,
but I have very little faith in them and their Christianity.

Q- — Assuming that there are thirty thousand Chinese in this city,
about what, in your opinion, is the proportion belonging to the crim-
inal classes, including prostitutes, thieves, gamblers, and violators of
the city ordinances?

A.— I should think seven-tenths or eight-tenths. I have done busi-
ness with some Chinese merchants, and found them high-minded,
fair, and honest ; but, as a class, the Chinese here, I think, are
naturally vicious, dishonest, and untruthful.

Q.— What dangers may be apprehended from the presence of a
population like that in a city of this kind?

A. — I am not prepared to give an answer to that, although I think
it is dangerous to the morals of the community, and there is great
danger to be apprehended from admixture with them. I am fearful
of it in the future. I see but very little good resulting to the commu-
nity from the greater portion of this class. The charges upon which
they are tried are generally of the higher grades, such as felonies of
the various grades.

A. Schell sworn.

Mr. Hayynond—JIow long have you resided in California?

A.— Since the sixth day of July, eighteen hundred and fifty.

Q. — Where do you reside?

A. — Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus County.

Q. — What is your business?

A.— I have been engaged in the practice of law. I am now engaged

in grape and wool-growing and in stock-raising. My business is
rather of a multifarious character.

Q. — Have you been in the habit of employing Chinese laborers to
any extent?

. A. — I have, since living at the ferry in eighteen hundred and fifty-
six, employed all kinds of laborers — Scandinavians, French, Irish,
and Chinese — employing eight or ten men, on an average, all the
year round. I find that there are good and bad laborers among nil
classes. I prefer to employ white men when I can get them, but
they cannot be had, and I am obliged to take Chinese. Were it not
for Chinamen, much of my work would be left undone. _

Q. — Did you hear the testimony of officers and the District Attor-
ney relative to Chinese here'/

A. — Yes, sir.

Q — Have you been brought in contact with that class of men ?

A. — We occasionally get criminals, but I am not speaking of them.
I never met but one Chinaman who could not read and write his
own language, and I have met a great many white men that could
not do it. I have often, in the practice of my profession, been called
upon to prosecute and defend Chinese, and would corroborate the
testimony of Mr. Murphy, that there is not much credibility to be
attached to their testimony. So far as their oath is concerned in a
Court of law, I think very little reliance can be placed upon it. I
think it is the prevailing opinion, among Californians, that they are
not to be believed in Court, unless corroborated by white testimony ;
hut. so tar as the labor element is concerned, I think they are an im-
portant element in this State. How you may be affected in the city I
cannot say, but I know in the country, if the Chinese element of labor
was taken away from us it would be a great detriment In the country
there is no competition between Chinamen and white men, but I find
this difference : the Chinamen will stay ami work, but the white man,
as soon as he gets a few dollars, will leave and go elsewhere. Once
in a while I get a good white man. and he will work until he gets
enough money to buy a farm for himself: then I have to go and get
more laborers.

Q. — Do the Chinese ever save money and buy farms?

A. — No; I don't know that they do, but there is nothing to encour-
age Chinamen. The unfriendly legislation of this State is such as
to discourage them. I believe the laboring man is an advantage to
the country, whether ( 'hinese or white men. There is room for all,
and there is need for ail the labor that can be brought to this country.
I believe that if you exclude Chinese you will have to close up every
woolen mill on' the coast, The question is, whether we should
encourage home manufactures or send money East for shoddy goods.

Q. — What clas< of immigration would you prefer — those who come
here, live a short time mid leave with their earnings, or those who
come here to settle and build a home?

A. — The latter, of course; but you don't get that in the white men.
I prefer white men in my place, but I have come here and tried to
get them, but I have failed. With white girls it is the same way.
They will not go to the country and do what work we want them to.
There is not enough labor to carry on the industrial and manufact-
uring pursuits, so Chinamen are necessary.

Q.- Don't you think that this is so only because Chinese Labor is
so cheap?

A. — The white man's work is worth more than the Chinaman's,
and he is better paid; but in the country we cannot depend upon
him. I do not know how it is in the city.

Q. — Don't you think there is enough white labor in California to

carry on the industrial pursuits?
A. — That may be. I do not know.

SEVENTH DAY.

San Francisco, April 19th, 1876.

J. P.. M. Fraser sworn.

Mr. Pierson — Have you ever resided in China'/

A. — I have — fifteen years. I was in the British Consular service
from eighteen hundred and fifty-nine to eighteen hundred and sev-
enty-four.

Q. — Are you a citizen of the United States'?

A. — No, I am nut. I have only been in California for about three
weeks.

Q. — Did you ever live in Hong-kong?

A. — No. I lived six years in Canton.

Q. — Do you know from what part of < Ihina emigrants to the United
States come?

A.— Mostly from ( Jariton.

Q. — To what class does the mass belong?

A. — To the laboring class — what we call coolies. The word coolie
does not define anything at all. He can be called upon to do any
kind of labor. By coolie we mean simply a laborer.

(,). — What was the coolie trade?

A. — Contracts by which Chinamen Avere sent to foreign countries
to perform labor for a certain number of years, at the expiration of
which they were to be returned to China. This trade was made ob-
jectionable from the fact that in eighteen hundred and sixty there
was a great deal of kidnaping of Chinamen to supply the trade.
The foreigners had Chinese agents on shore, who used to kidnap great
numbers of Chinamen, and shut them up in barricoons, whence they
.were taken on board ships and taken to Peru and Chili, and other
places. This trade, therefore, became so obnoxious that a stop was
put to it.

Q. — Do you know anything about the terms on which Chinese are
transported to this country ?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — How are the Chinese emigrants taken from < anton to Hong-
kong ?

A. — Ships are chartered direct from Canton, but they must necessa-
rily go to Hong-kong before they can clear. The vast majority of
emigrants shi]> directly from Hong-kong.

Q. — Do you know how they get from Canton to Plong-kong ?

A. — There is an immense junk traffic and steamer traffic, and any
amount of vessels plying between the two places all the time.

Q. — What do you understand of the relative jurisdiction or power
of the provincial governments and the Chinese Empire ?

A. — The province- are all subject to a central government, except
Corea.

Q— What is the head officer of the Canton Province called?

A.— Viceroy.

Q. — Is he appointed or elected?

A. — Appointed by the Imperial Government.

Q. — Have you been through the ( Ihinese quarter of this city, to any
extent ?

A. — Yes ; I have been in a good number of merchants' shops.

Q. — Have you been in the alleys and the lower places?

A. — No, sir. I have had too great an experience with Chinese cities
to frequent these places.

Q. — Taking the Chinese quarter as a whole, you cannot say how it
compares with ( Ihinese cities in point of cleanliness, etc. ?

A. — No. All I can say is. that there is not a clean city in China.

Q. — Are the people clean or filthy, as a whole?

A.- — By no means cleanly.

Q. — Have the Chinese any governmental system of education?

A. — Yes, sir. All the men, as a rule, can read and Avrite.

Q. — Is education compulsory?

A. — I think not; but it is expected that every man shall read and
write.

Q. — What is the social condition or position of the female in
China ?

A. — She is supposed to take the position of general helper; not
that of a companion. They are not thought much of.

Q. — How are they regarded by the men — as equals, or inferiors.

A. — Inferiors. You cannot buy a man ; but you can buy a woman.
A man can buy as many wives as lie pleases; or. rather. I should
call them concubines. There is only one wife really, who is at the
head of affairs; but the children of all are regarded as legitimate, as
the law allows them to have these concubine-. The Emperor, for
instance, has one wife and seventy-two concubines, but all the chil-
dren wear the yellow girdle, that signifies imperial blood; and they
are looked upon as a part of the royal family.

Q. — Do respectable Chinese women, as a rule, leave China ?

A— No, sir.

Q. — Does the Chinese Government encourage or discourage emi-
gration ?

A. — I do not think they encourage it. They rather like to have
their people stay at home.

Q. — Have you lived in a Chinese village where there were no other
English-speaking people ?

A. — Yes. sir.

(,». — Were the Chinese orderly ?

A. — Yes, sir. It was only eighteen miles from the Great Wall, and
during an excessively cold winter, yet I heard of no robberies, or
anything of that sort,

Q. — Judging the Chinese from a European standard, what can you
say of their morality?

A. — They are not a bit worse than some European nations.

Q. — Do you think there would he any objection, on the pail of the
Chinese Government, to making a commercial treaty, and in that
treaty to prevent the emigration of the lower classes?

A. — I think there would not,

Q. — Do you think, from your knowledge of the Chinese Govern-
ment, that such a modification could be made?

A.— Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know what they do with female children in China?

A. — As regards infanticide, that is not so wide-spread a calamity as
is generally believed.

Q. — Is it criminal to destroy female children ?

A. — It is criminal to commit murder of any kind. Their laws are
as rigid as any in the Napoleon Code.

Q. — Have you ever met a Christian Chinaman?

A. — Yes — by name.

Q. — Why do you say " by name " ?

A. — Because I don't believe you can get a Christian Chinaman,
unless you pay him to be such

Q, — What is your opinion of the labor of American and English
missionaries in that country?

A. — It has been anything but successful. I do not think there are
any strides being made towards the advancement of Christianity.
They will take what advantage they can of the free gifts of the white
race, such as medicine, etc., and pretend to do such as you want as
long as they are kept supplied.

Q. — From what part of England did you come ?

A. — I am a Scotchman.

Q. — What effect do you think the presence of thirty thousand
Chinese would have upon a city of two hundred and thirty thousand
inhabitants?

A. — There would not be room for them.

Q. — Is there any part of England so thickly settled as the Chinese
quarter of this city, where thirty thousand men live upon seven or
eight blocks?

A. — I think not.

Q. — Have you ever seen in China any considerable number of
Chinese when their passions were excited?

A. — Yes, I have.

Q. — How do they act under such circumstances?

A. — They talk a good deal, brandish their knives, etc., but when
there is any show of resistance they are very quick at running
away. They are arrant cowards, but so long as they have any kind
of a foreigner to lead them, they will go where lie will go. As soon
as lie falls, they scamper.

F. A. Gibes sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Since January, eighteen hundred and fifty — twenty-six years.

Q, — How long in the City of San Francisco?

A. — From eighteen hundred and seventy to the present time. The
balance of the time 1 resided in Sacramento.

<l. — What is your official position?

A. — Supervisor from the Eleventh Ward, city government.

Q. — Do you know anything about hospitals in this city ?

A.— I am Chairman of the Hospital Committee.

Q.— Are there any Chinese in the hospitals".''

A. — In the hospital, one ; in the almshouse, one ; and in the pest-
house, thirty-six. I think eight are afflicted with leprosy, and most
of the balance with venereal diseases.

Q.— -Do the Chinese contribute anything for the support of these
persons ?

A. — Nothing whatever.

Q. — What do they do with their sick and helpless?

A. — I understand they are turned out to die.

Q. — Have you ever been through the Chinese quarter of this city?

A. — Yes, sir; several times.

Q.— What is its condition as to cleanliness?

A. — It is in a miserable condition — a disgrace to the city and to the
police for permitting it, and to the health department, too, 1 think.

Q, — In your opinion, what influence has the presence of this Chi-
nese population on the morals of this city?

A. — A very bad one, indeed. The women have inoculated the
youth with diseases. The prices are so cheap in Chinatown that
young lads resort there, and as a consequence have all sorts of vene-
real diseases. There are many cases of young men in the hospital,
suffering from syphilis, contracted in the Chinese quarter.

Q,. — Have you ever seen any Christian Chinamen?

A— No, sir; I have not. I have been told that the Chinese each
pay five cents a day for the right to be doctored free when sick, but
should a Chinaman foil to pay his five cents, he must look out for
himself.

Mr. Rogers — You say a great many young boys are inoculated with
these diseases — are many of them in the city institutions?
_ A. — I think there are some, but a great many more are cured out-
side. A large number of dispensations are given and filled at the
city institutions.

Andrew McKenzie sworn.

Mr. Pierson — What is your business?

A. — A local officer.

Q. — How long have you been such?

A. — Three years or a little over, for the Roval Chinese Theatre.

Q,.— Where is that?

A. — On Jackson Street; and also, a year and a half on Jackson
Street proper, and taking a portion of Bartlett Alley.

Q. — Do you mean by that that you have served "four and one-half
years as a local ?

A. — Yes ; but I have been on the police force since eighteen hun-
dred and fifty-two.

Q. — Have you ever estimated the number of Chinese in the Chinese
quarter?

A. — In the Chinese quarter itself there are about fifteen thousand
or twenty thousand. Scattered on the outskirts and through the city
there are about ten thousand more.

Q. — How large a space does this quarter cover?

A. — Seven or eight blocks.

Q. — What is its condition?

A. — The streets are clean and the fronts of the stores are pretty
clean, but when you go underneath and back of the houses, it becomes
filthy. The alleys are very unclean. The houses are from one to
four stories high, and built mostly of brick.

Q— Are there any considerable numbers of Chinese houses of
prostitution on those alleys ?

A. — There are quite a number, but I think just now they are all
closed.

Q. — Are there gambling-houses on your beat?

A. — There have been, but they have all been closed within the last
two weeks.

Q. — How many were there before?

A. — About twenty. We have never entirely suppressed gambling
but generally managed to keep it under some restraint. We have
driven it and prostitution to the back streets, and off the street itself.

Q. — How are Chinese women held here?

A. — I think Mr. Rogers can inform you on that point better than I
can. He was employed by the Chinese up at the barricoon. There
is more or less bondage in houses of prostitution — white and Chinese,
too.

Q. — What do you mean by barricoon?

A. — A place where women coming from the ships are placed. It
is underneath the joss-house or the old theatre fronting on St. Louis
Alley, and running to Dupont Street. They are kept there until
apportioned out.

Mr. Haymond — Do you remember the time an attempt was made to
send Chinese prostitutes back to China?

A.— I do.

Q. — Do von know what officers were on duty and had charge of it
then ?

A. — I do not.

Q. — Is it not a notorious fact that these Chinese prostitutes are
held as slaves, subject to the pleasure of their owners?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q, — Do you know how they are treated ?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do you know whether they are made to work in the daytime?

A. — I have seen some of them sewing button-holes, sitting in their
door-ways.

Mr. Pier'son — Is that barricoon maintained there now?

A. — I think not, because no Chinawomen are coming now. They
have stopped coming within the last year. In speaking of lepers,
the Chinese told me they tried to get them away on the steamers,
but could not. I used to bring in visitors to see them.

Q. — Do vou know how many lepers there are in the Chinese quar-
ter ?

A. — I think, five or six. I don't know whether it is leprosy all
through or not. It may be a sort of syphilitic disease.

Q. — Where are these lepers kept ?

A. — Some in Cooper's Alley. They live in a small room by them-
selves, and when visitors go to see them they generally give two or
four bits, and that supports them.

Q. — How do the Chinese treat their sick, disabled, and helpless?

A. — Those belonging to companies are taken care of. The others
have to look out for themselves or go to the hospitals.

Q. — What has been your experience as to the honesty of the Chi-
nese, as a class?

A. — There is a great deal of dishonesty, but I think there are some
honest men. I don't look upon them as being as honest as white
persons. The Chinese look upon us as rascals, and we look upon
them in the same way.

Q,. — Would you believe them under oath ?

A. — A great many I would not believe. That is the rule. There
are exceptions, of course.

Q. — Have you ever been in the Globe Hotel ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How many people sleep there?

A. — I suppose between two and three hundred.

Q. — Is it difficult to enforce ordinances among the Chinese'.'

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — You say that gambling-houses and houses of prostitution are
now closed ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And why?

A. — For the simple reason that they can get no business.

Q, — Is that caused by the enforcing of the city ordinances?

A. — I suppose it is.

Q. — Is it possible to enforce all the ordinances of the city?

A. — I do not think so. While I believe San Francisco to be the
best governed city in the world, to enforce the ordinances in the Chi-
nese quarter would require a police force so large as to bankrupt the
city.

Q. — Is it difficult to enforce the fire ordinance ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do they habitually violate the health ordinance?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — And the laws regarding gambling and prostitution ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — So the great mass of the Chinese population is a criminal one,
living in open violation of laws and ordinances?

A. — A great many.

Q. — And it is very difficult to enforce the laws?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know any city in the world where the laws are violated
with the impunity they are in the Chinese quarter of this city?

A. — No ; and I do not know of any people in the world who have
the means to live better, yet will not live better.

Q. — Do you know the building on Jackson Street, near the theater —
the building in which is Dr. Gibson's Sunday-school?

A. — Yes, "sir.

Q, — Is it leased to Chinamen ? •

A. — Yes, sir.

Q — Who leases it ?

A. — The Rev. Dr. Otis Gibson, the Chinese missionary.

Q. — How does it compare, in regard to filth and dirt, with the Globe
Hotel ?

A. — It is filthier and dirtier. He has recently erected an engine
there for pumping water for use in that house, and the water pumped
is the seepage of all the sinks in the neighborhood.

Q. — Do you think it possible for any living being to live in a dirtier,
filthier place than this house of Gibson's?

A. — No, sir; that house is as filthy as 1 have seen them. Had I
not seen it with my own eyes I would not believe that any animal
could exist in such a place.

Q. —Would you think a hog could exist there, unless you saw it?
A. — It would make very bad meat for butchers.

Q. — Do the Chinese live there?

A.— They do.

Q. — How many live in a room seven feet high by eight or ten feet?

A. — I suppose fifteen or twenty. They have bunks there like a
ship's forecastle.

Q. — Will you give a description of the kind of filth they have
there?

A. — It is almost indescribable. It is much of all kinds. There is
rotten garbage there, seepage water — filth of all kinds. A steam en-
gine has been constructed to pump water for the use of Chinese, and
the water pumped is from the sinks and water-closets of the whole
neighborhood. The Chinese use that water, for it is being forced
upon them.

Q. — Who forces it upon them ?

A.— The landlord.

Q— Who is the landlord ?

A. — The Rev. Otis Gibson. When Gibson was building that engine,
and also a wooden house in there, I notified him that it was against
the fire ordinance, and he got a permit from the Board of Supervisors.
Regarding the enforcement of ordinances, I will say that among
white people others will complain and assist the officers, but among
the Chinese each one does all he can to defeat us. They assist each
other in every way, and it is very difficult for us to enforce the law.

Q. — You are paid by the Chinese, are you not?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And a large part of your pay comes from gamblers and prosti-
tutes ?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — Does the closing of these houses affect your salary to any great
extent?

A. — Yes, sir. We do not make such big collections. There is a
dark hour in all kinds of business, and this is our dark hour just now.

Alfred ( 'i.ai;k recalled.

Mr. Haymond — (Jive us a description of the Chy Lung case.

A. — In eighteen hundred and seventy-four a number of Chinese
prostitutes came here; and on the arrival of the Chinese steamer,
the Chief of Police, with several officers, took the women to the City
Hall. Mr. Gibson was used as interpreter, and the women examined.
Some of them testified that they came under contract for service;
but they did not care to fulfill the contract, if they could get out of it.
Many of the women either would not talk, or swore they came to see
their husbands. In September of eighteen hundred and seventy-
four the Commissioner of Immigration caused the detention, on
board the steamer Japan, of a number of women who came on that
vessel — I think twenty-one — said to be prostitutes. It was so deter-
mined by the State Courts, and the women ordered sent to China.
Under section one hundred and seventy-four of the Penal Code, these
women were detained on board the vessel under direction of Com-
missioner Pietrowski. They were brought before the Fourth District
Court on habeas corpus, but were remanded. The case was taken to
the Supreme ( lourt of the State at the July term of eighteen hundred
and seventy-four, and there the opinion of the lower Court was sus-
tained, and an order entered requiring the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company to take' them back to China, or give the bonds required

under section one hundred and seventy-four. As the steamer was
about to sail with them, they were taken by the Coroner of San Fran-
cisco on a writ of habeas corpus, issued from the United States Cir-
cuit Court. Upon a hearing, that Court reversed the decision of the
State Courts, decided that the women were improperly detained, and
the parties were discharged. The case was taken to the Supreme
Court of the United States, and this latter decision sustained. Since -
that time we have done nothing in that matter.

Q. — It appeared in testimony this morning that the City of San
Francisco, outside of the Chinese quarter, is the best governed city
in the world. What is your opinion?

A. — I think that is correct. Our police reports compare very
favorably with any other. In London the arrests average yearly
seven to each officer; here it is one hundred and fifty. It is very
difficult to enforce laws in the Chinese quarter, for reasons already
given before your committee. It is almost impossible to get evidence
against Chinese law-breakers, because they all swear together. To
enforce the laws and ordinances, as we do in other parts of the city,
would require a very large police force, and the city could not stand
the expense. I suppose fifty officers stationed there all the time
might preserve order and enforce the laws; but fifty officers for seven
or eight blocks is something unheard of.

Samuel II. Cohen sworn.

Mr. Haymond — < >f what country are you a native?

A. — England.

Q. — Were you ever in China ?

A. — Six years, within a month.

Q.— What time.

A. — From eighteen hundred and forty-three to eighteen hundred
and forty-nine. Since eighteen hundred and forty-nine I have lived
here, in this city.

Q. — State what you know about the social, moral, and political
condition of the Chinese people.

A. — I begin with the morals: I have lived in the south of China,
in Hong-kong. We saw there very little of the Chinamen to know
what they are. because the government gives them a certain part of
the town. I saw enough, however, to convince me that the morals
of the Chinese are worse than those of any people that I have met
with. [Witness details series of unnatural, indecent, brutal crimes
and offenses, which came under his own observation in China, and
which are of such a character as to be unfit for publication.] They
are very dirty people. I have seen them pick lice from themselves,
and eat them. In Shanghai, in the public gardens, I have seen them
sit down and perform that very interesting, but most disgusting,
operation. In Hong-kong they have to be clean, because the police
look alter them particularly. The policemen are districted there in
such a manner, that they are enabled to keep the place clean.

Q. — Do you know anything about the destruction of female chil-
dren?

A. — I have heard of it up north, and also at the south. In the
public streets they have large cess-pools. Everything is open and
exposed, and these public water-closets are being used at all hours
of the day and night; and women never dare to go upon the street,
because of the indecencies which they would have to witness if they

did. These places become filled up and flow over the streets, and
then are scooped up in buckets and carried to a reservoir in the
country. It is then used for manure, to assist the growth of vege-
tables. In traveling in the north of ( Ihina, I have seen a great many
Catholic Chinamen. The Catholics there seem to have done more
towards christianizing the Chinese than all the rest. A Catholic
priest told me their mission had converted sixty thousand in two
years. The Chinese, as a class, are thieves, from mandarin down.
While I kept store there, I have detected high officials and low
Chinamen in the act of stealing from me. The punishments in
some cases are excessively severe, even barbarous. They will lie.
You cannot get the truth from them. Bribery is very common in
official business.

David Louderback sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in San Francisco?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and forty-nine.

Q. — What positions have you held?

A. — From eighteen hundred and sixty-four I was prosecuting attor-
ney for the Police Judge's Court until J was elected Judge of that
Court.

Q. — What do you know about the habits, customs, and social and
moral status of the Chinese population in this city?

A. — 1 think they are a very immoral, mean, mendacious, dishonest,
thieving people, as a general thing.

Q. — What are the difficulties in the way of the administration of
justice where they are concerned ?

A. — As witnesses, their veracity is of the lowest degree. They do
not appear to realize the sanctity of an oath, ami it is difficult to
enforce the laws, where they are concerned, for that reason. They
are very apt, in all cases and under all circumstances, to resort to
perjury and the subornation of perjury. They also use our criminal
law to revenue themselves upon their enemies, and malicious prose-
cutions are frequent.

Q. — Do you know anything of the tenure by which Chinese women
are held ?

A. — In cases I have investigated, parties have been convicted for
dealing in this Chinese slavery — buying and selling women for pur-
poses of prostitution. The women probably never realize that they
are free agents, but act as though they were slaves.

Q. — Suppose a woman desired to escape from that life, what Avould
be her chance for success ?

A. — -They very seldom desire to escape, they are so inured to pros-
titution and lewdness. Occasionally one of them gets married, but
they know nothing of domestic life as we understand it. All these
women here are prostitutes, or have been prostitutes. I have not
met with a single decent Chinawoman.

Q. — Are all classes of Chinese engaged in this traffic in women?

A. — I think not. I have heard that the merchants were engaged
in it, but there has never been any evidence to show that.

Q. — About what proportion of the Chinese population in this city
are habitual law-breakers, violators of the city ordinances, thieves,
gamblers, prostitutes, and living off the wages of crime?

A. — The proportion is very great.

Q. — Leaving out of consideration the Chinese part of this city, how

are the laws generally enforced in San Francisco, as compared with
other cities?

A. — J think they are enforced a- little better than in other cities.
It is difficult to enforce the laws among the Chinese, because of their
mendacity and bad habits generally.

Q.— What is the effect upon the public morals, of that population,
in a city like this ?

A. — I think their presence is degrading to the white race.

Q. — Have you ever seen any Christian Chinamen ?

A. — I have seen those who professed to be Christians. I never
tested their sincerity. "When Chinese are brought into Court I never
think of inquiring into their religion.

Q, — What is your opinion in regard to the advancement of Chris-
tianity by reason of the presence of the Chinese here?

A. — I don't think it amounts to much.

Q. — Do you think the presence of these people tends to the im-
provement of the morals of the community ?

A. — No, sir ; I think the reverse.

<,). — It does not tend to the advancement of Christian civilization?

A. — I think their presence is injurious to religion as well as morals.

Q. — What are the difficulties encountered in attempting to stop
prostitution in this city ?

A. — Inability to obtain sufficient evidence to justify conviction.
We do not understand their language, and of course cannot go by
general appearances. We must have legal evidence to warrant con-
viction for prostitution.

Q. — With a Chinese population confined to seven or eight bloeks,
would it not be easy to obtain evidence if the heads of the Chinese
companies were to wish to stop it?

A. — They could render great assistance.

Q — Do they do that?

A. — I never knew them to do that.

Yung Ty sworn. J. Millard interpreter.

Mr. McCoppin — How long have you been in California?

A. — Fifteen years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — Three days' travel from Canton.

Q. — Are you President of the Hop-wo Company?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How many members of that company are there?

A. — Our books show thirty-four thousand, but of this number ten
thousand have returned to China, leaving twenty-four thousand
here now. I do not know how many are in San Francisco, for I have
been President only six months.

<l. — Are any of your company gamblers'/

A. — I do not know. I am not acquainted with any.

Q. — Do any women belong to your company ?

A. — Some families.

Q. — Are any of those houses of prostitution in the Chinese quarter
carried on under the management of your people?

A. — No, sir; we do not have anything to do with them.

Q. — How do people belonging to your company come here?

A. — They raise money mostly at home. Some borrow from friends
in China.

Q. — What do they <lo with their sick ?

A. — If they have relatives they take care of them.

Q. — How is it that so many Chinese are in our hospitals?

A. — I don't know. All that belong to our company we take care of.

Q. — Are you willing to join the Presidents of the other companies
to send back to China people afflicted with incurable diseases?

A. — We will consult together. If they are willing, I am.

Q. — How many of the thirty-four thousand belonging to your com-
pany are coolies?

A. — We have none of that class, for our men are mostly farmers at
home.

Q. — Are they men who own the land ?

A. — Most of them are working it on shares; some of them own the
ground. Some of them are working for wages, while some work for
themselves.

Q. — Are they called coolies?

A. — I don't know what you mean by coolies. They are not slaves;
they are simply the lower class of men who work for a living.

Q.— ;What is a coolie?

A. — I do not know.

Q. — Do you know what a slave is ?

A . — We have no such in our country.

Q, — Have you ever heard of the coolie trade ?

A. — I don't know any such thing in China.

Q. — How many Chinamen in this city are Christians'.''

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do you know one?

A. — No, sir. I have only been here in this city six months. I
have been in this country fifteen years.

Q. — Have you ever heard of the Burlingame treaty '?

A. — I have heard of it.

Q. — Have you ever read it ?

A. — No, sir ; I have only heard it spoken of.

Sin How sworn. J. Millard interpreter.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?

A. — Six years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — Canton.

Q. — Of what company are you President?

A. — Kong-chow.

Q. — How many Chinese in this State belong to your company?

A. — A little over fifteen thousand.

Q. — How many of them are in San Francisco?

A. — I guess about five thousand.

Q. — Do you know any Christian Chinamen ?

A. — I don't know anything about them.

Q. — Have you ever seen one ?

A. — I do not associate with them. I don't know anything about
them. If I have seen them, I do not recognize them as Christians.

Q. — Do any Christians belong to your company ?

A. — If they do, I would not be apt to know it.

Mr. McCoppin — What do you do with your sick?

A. — If they have brothers or relations, they take care of them ; if
not, we take care of them.

Q. — Why is it there are so many Chinese in our hospitals?

A. — I don't know about that. I have only been President three
months, and have not learned all these things.

Q. — Are you willing to join the other companies in sending back
to China Chinamen afflicted with incurable diseases?

A. — I do not know what our company would do. We are not very
well off, but I will consult with the others, and sec what they say.

Q. — Do you know who own the women in these houses of prosti-
tution ?

A. — 1 do not associate with the men who have control of these
women.

Q. — Do any of these men belong to your company?

A.— I cannot tell. If they do, they do not tell me.

Q. — Why don't you exercise your influence to discourage gambling
and prostitution among the Chinese?

A. — AW' do discourage it, but they do not pay any attention to us.
They do not let us know about these things.

Q. — Do you know that there are Chinese prostitutes in this city?

A. — 1 suppose there are.

Q,. — Did you ever see one?

A. — -I have seen plenty of women on the street, but which are pros-
titutes and which are private women I don't know.

<,►. — Did you ever make any inquiry about it?

A. — No ; I don't have anything to do with that kind of business.

<<!• — Do you know any gamblers?

A. — There are gamblers here, I think, but I have never seen any.

Q. — How long have you been President of this company'/

A.- — A little over three months.

Q. — How often do you change?

A. — Sometimes once a year : sometimes once in two years.

Q — AVho elects the President?

A. — The merchants and members of our company.

Q. — How is the selection made?

A.— By voice. The merchants mostly get together and make it up
who shall be President.

Q— What is the salary?

A. — I get eighty dollars a month and board myself.

Q, — Do you know what a coolie is?

A. — No/sir.

Q. — Have you heard of the coolie trade?

A. — I don't know anything about that.

Q. — Have you ever heard of the Burlingame treaty?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — What induced you to come to this country'.' 1

A. — 1 came here to keep a store and to do business. There are a
good many in this country who send back to China and praise it up,
and that induces some folks to come.

Q. — Does the Chinese Government desire Chinamen to come to this
country, or does it desire them to stay at home?

A. — We have no regulation as to that matter. Anybody can come
and go back.

Q. — Were you a merchant in China?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What would be considered a good salary for a clerk in ( 'anion ?

A. — It depends upon the kind of business. In the large houses,

throe hundred dollars or four hundred dollars a year Small houses
pay as low as twenty dollars a year.

Q. — Three hundred dollars or four hundred dollars for the very
best ?

A. — Yes ; some pay as high as that. They pay that price only for
expert labor.

Q. — How many people are living in Canton ?

A. — Over a million.

Si Quon sworn. J. Millard interpreter.

Mr. McCoppin — What position do you hold?

A. — President of the Yung- wo Company.

(,). — For how long?

A. — Fourteen years.

(<>. — What do they pay you?

A. — Sixty dollars a month.

Q. — How many people belong to your company in California?

A. — Ten thousand.

([. — How many women ?

A. — Not many.

Q. — How many Chinawomen are there in San Francisco ?

A. — There must be over one thousand.

Q. — How many are not prostitutes?

A. — Several hundred.

Q. — Are these several hundred married ?

A. — Most of them come here as wives, while some have been mar-
ried according to American customs.

Q. — What do you do with your sick ?

A. — Some are taken care of by friends and some by the company.

Q. — Why are so many in our hospitals?

A. — There may be some in foreign hospitals, but we take care of
most of them ourselves. Each company takes care of its own men.

Q. — Are you willing to unite with the other companies in sending
back to China Chinamen afflicted with incurable diseases?

A. — I think our company would be willing to do it.

<<>. — How many Christian Chinamen do you know in this city?

A. — About ten or fifteen belong to my company.

Q, — How many among all the Chinese?

A. — 1 do not know.

Q. — Are they better or worse than other Chinamen?

A. — They principally talk as good, if they only follow it up.

Q, — Would you trust a Christian Chinaman as soon as any other ?

A. — -I have never had any business directly with them, and I don't
know whether I would trust them or not.

Q. — Do you know any gamblers?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — Do you know how the men belonging to your company in this
city are employed ?

A. — Some are in business, and some do all kinds of work.

Q. — How many are servants in families?

A. — -I don't know.

Q. — How many are at work making boots and shoes?

A. — We have men in the shoe factories, but very few.

Q. — How many are making overalls, shirts, and drawers?
7

A. — Very few. We have men engaged in a great many different
tilings, but I don't know how many.

Q.— How many officers has the Chinese Government in this city?

A.— None, except one, who is in the East. We expect one this
fall.

Q. — What is he coming for?

A.— I think he is coming here to go East to the American head-
quarters.

Chin Fong Chow sworn. J. Millard interpreter.

Mr. Raymond — From what part of China did you come?

A.— One day and a half travel from Canton.

Q. — How long have you been in California?

A. — Eight years.

Q. — "What position do you hold now?

A.— President of the Yan-wo Company.

Q— How many members of that company are there in California?

A.— Four thousand three hundred.

Q,.— Plow many ( 'hinamen arc in California altogether, that do not
belong to one of the six companies?

A. — About one thousand.

Q. — Are there not twice that many?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — To what company do the prostitutes belong?

A. — I do not know.

0,- — To what company do the gamblers belong?

A. — I do not know.

Q. — Do you know any Christian Chinamen?

A— No.

Q. — Where do they live?

A. — 1 don't know.

Q. — Did you ever see a Christian Chinaman?

A.— 1 do not know. I would not know one if I should see him.

Q. — Who controls the Chinese joss-houses?

A. — Each company has a temple.

0,. — Who has charge of the one on Jackson Street?

A. — 1 don't know. It is not under the charge of my company.

Q. — Who supports them?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Who pays the expense for keeping it open?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Who bring Chinese women to this country'/

A. — They come in various ways.

Q. — In what ways?

A. — They make arrangements themselves before they come here
but who has charge of them here 1 don't know.

Q. — How many wives do Chinamen have under the law?

A. — All the way from one to four and five.

Q, — Do they lend their wives around to each other?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do they ever sell their wives?

A.— No.

Q. — Do you know what a coolie is?

A. — A laboring man.

Q. — How much does the Pacific Mail Steamship Company charge
for taking Chinamen hack to China?

A. — Fifty-three dollars.

Q. — How much of that does your company gel ?

A. — Nothing. It all goes to the steamship company.

Q— Will the steamship company sell a man a ticket for China
without the certificate of his company?

A.— 1 think they would sell it,

J//-. McCoppin — What do you do with your sick?

A. — We take care of the members of our own company.

Q. — How is it there are so many Chinamen in our hospitals?

A.— I don't know anything' about that. We always take care of
our own men.

Q. — Will your company join the other companies in sending back
to China Chinamen afflicted with incurable diseases ?

A— I think thev will.

EIGHTH DAY.

San Francisco, April 20th, 1876.

Wong Ben sworn.

Q. — How long have you been in California'.-'

A. — Nearly thirteen years.

Q. — Where did you come from — what part of China?

A. — Canton.

Q. — What have you been doing since you came to ( lalifornia?

A. — Acting as interpreter, for a while, in the Police and County
Courts.

Q. — How long is it since yon learned to speak English '!

A. — About ten years.

Q. — Where do you live now?

A. — I live here, in San Francisco.

Q.— Were you a witness in the Police Court yesterday, where some
Chinese prostitun s were tried?

A.— Yes; we tried to break up that business. Last year I had two
boys with me, and we tried to break up the gambling-houses and
houses of prostitution. We tried to have the policemen arrest the
keepers, but Charley Duffield kicked the boy in the head, and told
him to go away. He would not let us go into the gambling-houses to
see who were there, so that we could have them arrested.

Q. — Are you helping the police?

A.— Yes," sir. Charley Duffield told us we had no reason to go
against the keepers of these houses.

Q. — Who are these keepers?

A. — Wong Woon. a lug fellow, who keeps a house of prostitution.
An Geo. another big fellow— every time a woman gets into trouble he
gets her out. He goes and collects commission from women and
makes them pay so much a month. He gets lawyers fur the gamblers,
too, and collect's five dollars one week, and ten dollars a month.

Q. — Are these men merchants?

A.— No; they keep gambling-houses, and houses of prostitution.
They buy women in China, and bring them here to be prostitutes—
and thev sell them again here.

100

Q.— What do they say if you testify?

A. — They put up one thousand five hundred dollars to put my life
out. They tell me if that don't do it they will put up two thousand
dollars, and then three thousand dollars. He told me last night he
would give me one hundred and fifty dollars if I would not say any-
thing, and that I must take it, or I would have my life put out.
Wong AVoon and An Geo collect thirteen dollars each month from
gambling-houses, eight dollars a month from lottery-houses, then five
dollars a week more from gamblers. They tell me I must not go
against them, and they would give me money. If I would not take
ii they would put my life out. I won't take it, because young boys
come here and spend all their money in gambling-houses and houses
of prostitution, and by-and-by he hasn't got a cent. He can't go
borne. Why? Because he can't go, for he gambled off his money.
When he sees that he works all the time and never has a cent, he
thinks it is no use to work any more, and so becomes a loafer on the
street.

Q. — Who bring the Chinese women here?

A. — Wong Fook Soi, Bi Chee, An Geo, and Wong AVoon.

1 1. — What do these men do?

A. — They keep gambling-houses and bouses of prostitution.

Q. — To what company do these men belong"/

A. — An Geo belongs to the See-yup Company; Wong Woon to the
Sam-yup Company. That fellow has got lots of money. He buys
women in China for two hundred dollars or three hundred dollars,
and brings them out here and sells them for eight hundred or nine
hundred dollars, to be prostitutes.

Q. — How do they get those women in China?

A.— In Tartary. They are "big feet " women, and are sometimes
bought for ninety dollars. When they bring them out here they sell
them for nine hundred dollars.

Q. — What do they do with them?

A. — They make them be prostitutes. If they don't want to be pros-
titutes they make them be.

Q. — Can they get away?

A. — Xo, sir.

Q. — What do they do with them when they get sick and cannot
work any longer'.''

A. — They don't treat them well at all. They don't take as much
care of them, whether they are sick or well, as white people do a dog.
Chinawomen in China are treated first rate, but in California these
" big feet " women are treated worse than dogs.

Q. — How many Chinese prostitutes are there in this city?

A. — Take in the high-toned prostitutes, those that live up-stairs,
and I guess there are about eight hundred.

Q. — Do you know what the six companies are?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do they have anything to do with these women?

A. — No, sir.

(,). — How do Chinese come to this country — do the companies bring
them here ?

A.— No. The companies only take care of them when they come
here. Then they don't know the place and the language, and the
companies look after them. The women are taken care of and
brought here by these big fellows I mentioned.

101

Q. — How many gambling-houses arc there here?

A. — An Geo. Wong Woon, and those big fellows have got six big

houses.

Q. — How many smaller ones?

A. — Seventy-five or seventy-six. Last year I go1 two boys and we
counted eighty-two gambling-houses in this city. Duffield said if we
didn't stop he would break our heads.

Q.— Who is Duffield?

A. — He is a policeman who watches houses of prostitution and
gambling-houses. He gets lots of money.

Q. — How much?

A. — Five dollars a week from the gambling-houses, and four bits a
week from each prostitute.

Q. — Do you know of white boys going to Chinese houses of prosti-
tution?

A. — Yes; plenty of them.

Q. — How old boys have you seen there?

A. — Ten or fifteen years old. Women don't care how old they
are, as long as they got money.

Q,. — Have you seen many boys twelve and fifteen years old there?

A. — Plenty of them.

Q. — How many women have been arrested to be tried to-day?

A.— I have forgotten. The first day we got nine. I don't know
how many they got this next time. Yesterday, when the trial was
coming on, these big boss fellows with lots of money seared off the
witnesses. 1 tried to make them not afraid ; but it was of no use.

Q. — Do they frighten the Chinese by threatening to kill them if
they testify in the American Courts?

A. — Yes, sir. Plenty of times the big company scares the little
company. When there is any trouble, the companies go against each
other sometimes. When one man kills another, one company tries
to get him hung, and the other to get him free, if they can't settle it
themselves. Sometimes they spend lots of money to get a man
hung.

Q. — From what part of China do most of the Chinamen here
come?

A. — Near Canton mostly; but there are plenty of Tartars in this
country.

Q. — Do vou know any Christian Chinamen'/

A.— Yes.

Q. — How many?

A. — Ten or fifteen. Some believe little. Some just go to school
to learn to read ; that is all. Some believe everything.

Q. — Suppose a Chinawoman got away, what would they do?

A. — Sometimes her owners put up money to get her back again ;
sometimes they make the man who got her pay money to them for
her. If a man take a woman away from a house of prostitution,
they tell him they put his life out.

Q. — Do you know of any Chinamen being killed for taking away
women from those house- ?

A. — One hoy go1 killed up in Ross Alley nearly four years ago.
These big fellows hired nun to kill him. Three men ran up and
shot him, and ran a knife into him; and that is the reason other
box's are afraid to help women.

Q. — How old were yon when you came to California?

102

A. — About nine years old.

Q. — How old are you now?

A . — Nearly twenty-four.

<,). — How many gambling-houses were there two months ago?

A. — -Over eighty.

Q. — How much a month do they pay the police?

A. — Five dollars a week each one. These four big fellows, besides
that, collect thirteen dollars a month to pay a white man to get them
out of trouble. The lottery-houses pay eight dollars a month.

Q. — How many lottery-houses are there?

A. — Two or three hundred. When I have tried to get into
gambling-houses to see who were there, so I could arrest them, they
wouldn't let me in. The bosses tell them, when they see me coining,
to shut the door. 1 get a green boy from the mountains to go into a
house of prostitution, so he can talk and sec what kind of a house it.
is, so 1 can make him swear.

Q. — 'Whom are you assisting in this matter?

A. — The boys working in this city here make twenty or twenty-
five dollars a month, and they spend this in the houses of prostitu-
tion and gamble it off. They come to me and say: ''You get the
gambling-houses and houses of prostitution shut up, and yon will be
a great man.*' Charley Duffield put one fellow in jail one hundred
days for nothing, because lie was helping me. Yesterday 1 had ten
or twelve boys to swear in Court against the gamblers and the whore-
house fellows. I told them not to be afraid, that nothing would
happen to them. When they found out that they would get hurt if
they swore, they all run away. They put up a notice on a wall to
put out my life for one thousand and five hundred dollars, hut when
f went to get it they tore it down.

Q. — Did you ever see any other notices offering rewards for killing
Chinamen ?

.'v. — Plenty of them.

Q. — Where do they have them posted?

A. — On a five-story house on .Jackson Street. These big fellows
had a place where they kept their books and money, and a. list of all
the men interested in gambling-houses and houses of prostitution.
I knew 1 could not get in there, and told Ying Low to go there and
see if he saw any hooks on their table. The first time lie saw plenty
of hooks, and 1 went and got policemen to go there, but those big
fellows all cleared out. I think they will have another meeting in two
weeks or ten days, and 1 guess 1 can catch them then. Last month
Wong Woon put up eight thousand dollars, that he got from gamblers,
to light the law. Whenever a gambler or a prostitute gets into
trouble, they spend some of this money to get them out and fight the
law. Yesterday I had fifteen witnesses to swear against these fellows,
but when Wong Woon saw that he asked for a continuance, and this
morning 1 have only gol two. My company tells me to break up
these houses, and the six companies have put up a notice saying that
if any more notices of reward are put up, they will fight.

Dr. H. H. Toland sworn.

Mr. Haymond — Doctor, how long have von practiced medicine in
this State?
A.- — Twenty-three years.

103

Q. — And during that time have you had one of the leading posi-
tions, from a medical point of view, in this city?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q— You are the founder of the "Toland Medical University"?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q,. — A member of the San Francisco Board of Health ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Of what institution were you a graduate?

A. — Transylvania University, Kentucky, in eighteen hundred and
thirty-two — one of the first Western universities that was established
at Lexington, Kentucky.

Q. — it has been slated that these Chinese houses of prostitution are
open to small boys, and that a great many have been diseased. Do
you know anything about that?

A. — I know that is so. I have seen boys eight and ten years old
with diseases they. told me they contracted on Jackson Street. It is
astonishing how soon they commence indulging in that passion.
Some of tiie worst cases of syphilis I have ever seen in my life occur
in children not more than ten or twelve years old. They generally
try to conceal their condition from their parents. They come to me
and 1 help screen it from their parents, and cure them without com-
pensation. Sometimes parents, unaware of what is the matter, bring
their hoys to me, am! L do all I can to keep the truth from them.

Q. — Are these cases of frequent occurrence?

A. — Yes, sir. You will find children from twelve to fifteen that
are often diseased. In consequence of neglect, they finally become
the worst cases we have to treat.

Q. — What effect will that have upon the health of the community,
in the end ?

A. — It must have a bad effect, because a great many of these chil-
dren get secondary syphilis, and it runs until it becomes almost-
incurable. Under the most favorable circumstances it takes a long-
time to eradicate it, but when it becomes constitutional, it is an
exceedingly difficult thing to cure it. When they come to me for
treatment, they sometimes have secondary syphilis; sometimes chan-
cre ; sometimes a tertiary form. Under most favorable circumstanc* s
it takes two or three years to eradicate syphilis.

Q. — Unless you have complete control of the patient for that time,
is it not certain that the seeds of the disease remain in the system
through life?

A. — It destroys life. 1 can show a dozen cases in the County Hos-
pital, where, if they recover, it will be after a long course of treat-
ment, and some of them will not recover at all. The whole system
becomes poisoned and debilitated. They are so diseased, and the
system is so exhausted, perhaps by a big sore, or something of that
sort, that they cannot be cured.

Q. — When syphilis assumes a secondary and tertiary form, what
effect will it have upon the children of such persons?

A. — The disease is hereditary, and will be transmitted to the chil-
dren. I have positive evidence of that in a family that I have been
treating, where the children are diseased. The father had the dis-
ease when he married a healthy woman, and of three children born,
every one exhibited symptoms of syphilis.

Q. — From your observation, what would you say as to the effect it

104

must have upon this community if these Chinese prostitutes are
allowed to remain in the country?

A. — It will fill our hospitals with invalids, and I think it would be
a very great relief to the younger portion of the community to get
rid of them.

Q. — Judge Hager says, when he was in the United States Senate,
and endeavored to take some steps to prevent immigration of this
people, he was met by the proposition that their coming to this coun-
try tended to advance Christian civilization, and the humanitarians
of the East would not aid him for that reason. What is your opinion ?
A. — It does not tend to the advancement of Christian civilization,
but it has the contrary effect. There is scarcely a single day that
there are not a dozen young men come to my office with syphilis or
gonorrhoea. A groat many of them have not means to be treated
properly, and the disease runs on until it becomes constitutional;
and in nine cases out of ten it is the ruin of them. I have treated a
great many boys, and I have treated the parents. Sometimes the
parents would come, and after going through a course of treatment,
would bring their children.

Mr. Pierson — To what extent do these diseases come from Chinese
prostitutes ?

A. — I suppose nine-tenths. When these persons come to me I ask
them where they got the disease, and they generally tell me that
they have been with Chinawomen. They think diseases contracted
from Chinawomen are harder to cure than those contracted elsewhere,
so they tell me as a matter of self-protection. I am satisfied, from
my experience, that nearly all the boys in town, who have venereal
disease, contracted it in Chinatown. They have no difficulty there,
for the prices are so low that they can go whenever they please. The
women do not care how old the boys are, whether five years old or
more, as long as they have money.

Q — Then the maintenance of this population in our midst, instead
of advancing civilization, would seem to be a crime against it?
A. — That is my opinion.

Mr. Donovan — Have you ever read or heard of any country in the
world where there were so many children diseased as there are in
San Francisco?

A. — Xo, sir. I lived in a town of one hundred and fifty or two
hundred students, and we had not many public houses, but the stu-
dents were not near so diseased, in proportion to their number, as
arc the boys here in this city.

Mr. Haymond— Can you approximate the number of boys affected
here during any given year?

A. — I cannot' tell exactly, because my attention has not been par-
ticularly directed to it; but I treat half a dozen every day in the
year of three hundred and sixty-five days.
Q. — Is not that a fearful condition of things ?

A.— It is most frightful. Generally they are improperly treated,
and the syphilis or gonorrhoea runs on from week to week until
stricture results, and that is almost as bad as constitutional syphilis,
because it requires a long time to cure it.

Q. — Do you know anything about the cleanliness of the Chinese
quarter of this city ?

A.— I have treated a good many Chinamen, ['perform nearlj all
their surgical opi .'lions, and have found them cleanly in person.

105

Their clothes are generally clean. In some places they are very much
crowded. I have never examined the quarters. I have only been in
the stores, where I have been called on surgical business. The Chinese
do not like to be cut, and it is only seldom you can get a chance to
operate on them. They have no surgeons in China, The Chinese
doctors do not understand the circulation of the blood, and they
know nothing of surgery or surgical diseases. They are not allowed
to dissect. They have made no advancement at all in the science of
surgery.

W. M. Websteb sworn.

Mr. Haymond — What is your business?

A. — Agent for the Associated Press.

Q,. — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and sixty-two.

Q. — Were you ever in China?

A. — In the summer of eighteen hundred and sixtv-one.

Q.— What part of China?

A. — Shanghai.

Q. — What do you know of the social and moral condition of that
people, the condition of their cities, etc. ?

A. — Shanghai was the nastiest city I ever saw. The streets were
very filthy, while public privies — which are nothing more than open
sheds — arc scattered along the public thoroughfares. Some of these
places were running over — the refuse matter flowing over the streets
in the vicinity, sometimes a foot deep on the sidewalks. The streets
are very narrow, the widest being about ten, fifteen, and twenty feet
in width, and full of all kinds of garbage. There is an indescribable
combination of stenches arising from these sources, which is simply
horrible.

Q, — Are there any Christian Chinamen there?

A. — Not that I am aware of.

Q. — Do you know whether the missionaries have made any ad-
vances in christianizing them?

A. — I do not know.

Q. — How do the Chinese quarters of this city compare with Shang-
hai ?

A. — As far as the streets are concerned, they are cleaner here. How
it is as regards the interior, I cannot say.

Q,.- — What is your opinion as to the moral condition of these people,
gauged by the European standard?

A. — Very low. indeed, as regards the condition of the laboring
classes. They seem to be much worse there than they are here. They
seem to be more oppressed there than here. I can't say that I ever
saw any evidences of slavery, but I have seen some very harsh treat-
ment of laborers by foremen or overseers. They are worked very
hard and forced to live on very little of the cheapest food.

<,). — What was the meaning of the term "coolie," in China, when
you were there?

A. — I understood it to mean a laboring man.

Q.— From your observation, what do you think of the continuance
of this Chinese immigration?

A.— It must be very bad. It must injure the morals of the people
here and ruin business.

Q. — Does it tend to the advancement of Christian civilization?

106

A. — Xoi at all. I think the whites will learn more heathenism
from the Chinese than they will Christianity from us.

Q. — From what part of the East did you come.

A. — Maine.

Q. — Have you ever been connected with the press, except as agent
for the Associated Tress?

A. — Not regularly. T have done some newspaper work, however,
from time to time.

Q.— Is it not the almost universal opinion here that this Chinese
immigration is a great evil?

A. — That is the only expression of opinion that I have heard. A
great many seem to favor a limited immigration, though all are
opposed to the present system.

Q. — is it your opinion that the presence of the Chinese here tends
to elevate them or degrade the whites?

A. — To degrade the whites, I should say.

Q. — We have just examined Dr. Toland in regard to diseases con-
tracted in Chinatown by white boys. What is his standing as a
physician and surgeon?

A. — It is very good. I understand that lie stands at the head of
Ins profession, and is a man of great learning and thorough scientific
attainments.

Dr. J. C. Shorb sworn.

Mr. Pierson — What is your profession'.-'

A. — Physician and surgeon.

Q. — How long have you been such ?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.

Q. — From where did you graduate?

A. — The University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia.

Q. — How long have you resided in California?

A — I came to California, as a surgeon in the army, in the winter
of eighteen hundred and sixty — December, ! think — and I have been
here ever since. I have resided in San Francisco since eighteen hun-
dred and sixty-four.

Q. — Practicing your profession all the time?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — You are a member of the San Francisco Board of Health ?

A. — Yes. sir. I have been a member now two months. On the
first organization of the Hoard of Health, I was a member for three
years — during eighteen hundred and seventy-one-two-three, I think.

Q. — Are yon familiar with the Chinese quarter of this city?

A. — I am not, nor do I want to he.

Q — Have your duties, as a member of the Board of Health, called
you into that quarter ?

A.— Xo. sii-.

Q. — Do you know anything of its condition as regards cleanliness?

A. — Only such idea as I would get from driving through it. The
duty of examining the quarter devolves upon the Health Inspector,
and not on the members of the Board of Health.

Q. — Do you know what influence Chinese prostitution has upon
the white population?

A. — Very bad — exceedingly so.

Q. — What is the effect on the youth of San Francisco?

A. — The presence of Chinese women here has made prostitution

107

excessively cheap, and it has given these boys an opportunity to
gratify themselves at very slight cost. They get syphilis and gonor-
rhoea cheaper in that way than any way I know of. Xow and then
these boys have a " windfall," and go among white girls and distrib-
ute these diseases very generously, i have had boys from twelve
years up to eighteen and nineteen — any numbers of them — afflicted
with syphilis contracted from Chinese prostitutes.

Q. — From your own experience, can you give us any idea of the
extent of this evil among boy>"/

A. — It would be very hard to give you a definite idea.

Q. — Is it very general ?

A. — Yes; and 1 suppose my experience must be the experience of
all the physicians in San Francisco in fall practice.

Q. — Have you any opinion as to the influence the Chinese have
upon civilization here?

A. — 1 have some idea about that, of course, but I have not studied
the question to any great extent. It is well known all over the world
that it is better for any country where the laborers are consumers;
and to have this Chinese population of any benefit to this country,
they should consume the products of this country.

Q. — Then y:>u regard the Chinese as non-consumers?

A. — ( >f course 1 do.

Q. — What effect is the prevalence of these syphilitic diseases going
to have upon future generations ?

A. — No one can pretend to map out the ravages which syphilis
will make. You do not know exactly when it dies out in the system.
You don't know to what extent it may affect generations yet unborn.

Q. — Is it regarded by medical men as hereditary?

A. — The disease can be transmitted, and the peculiar condition of
the system of the progeny will very easily enable you to trace this
disease.

Q. — Is syphilis, in the tertiary form, ever cured ?

A. — Yes; occasionally. Nature revolts at the presence of this
poison in the system, and sometime- succeeds in getting rid of it.
The vital principle is sometimes strong enough to effect a cure with-
out medicine. But this tertiary form generally sets hold of weak
or exhausted constitutions, and there are generally other troubles
besides syphilis.

Q. — Do 3 T ou not find, in the case of boys who have contracted
syphilis, that they are practically incurable because of neglect?

A. — Boys who get that kind of a disease are not generally ashamed
to come and tell you about it: at least that has been my experience.

Q. — Yoti are satisfied, from the revelations made by patients, that
the most of it is contracted from Chinese women?

A. — Yes; some of my worst cases in boys have come from Chinese
prostitutes.

Q. — Do you think that this Chinese immigration tends to the ad-
vancement of Christian civilization?

A. — My ideas are exactly opposite. I do not see how any sensible
man can reach a conclusion of that kind. No man with any knowl-
edge of the facts can do so.

Q. — Do you know any Christian Chinamen?

.V. — Xo ; ] do not know any, but I hear there are some in town.

Q. — What is the standing of Dr. Toland in his profession?

A. — Excellent.

10S

Q. — He is known all over the State of California?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is there any generally received opinion among medical men
that the habitual use of opium destroys the procreative powers?

A. — Unquestionably. It breaks down the nervous system com-
pletely, and has a very serious effect on other powers. It deranges
digestion, and when this is deranged all the powers of the body must
necessarily fail.

James H. Bovee sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty.

Q— In what part of the State?

A. — In San Francisco, except three years.

Q. — What is your business now?

A. — I am in no business at present, but for the last four years I
have been jail-keeper in the Sheriff's office.

Q. — Do you know anything about the Chinese quarters?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What is the condition of those quarters as regards cleanliness?

A. — I don't know that you can go to any part of the world and
find as dirty a place as the ( 'hinese quarters here.

Q. — What is the extent to which gambling and prostitution is car-
ried on in the Chinese quarter?

A. — At present I do not think there is any gambling, but before
this excitement it and prostitution were very prevalent.

Q. — Can the Presidents of the six companies live there and not
know anything of this?

A. — It would be impossible for them not to know all about it.

Q. — What do you know of otters of rewards for assassinations of
persons for giving testimony in American Courts?

A. — I don't know anything about that, but I have heard of such
things.

Q,.— Do they interfere with the administration of justice here?

A. — Yes, sir. Whenever a man is arrested the first thing he does
is to try to bribe the officer to let him go. Then they will try to bribe
anybody who has anything to do with the prosecution.

<,). — Suppose they are arrested and brought into Court; is it an
easy matter to obtain evidence from Chinese?

A. — Yes; they can obtain it. The Chinese will swear to anything.
I do not think that they have any regard for our oaths at all.

Q. — Are these prostitutes bought and sold and held in bondage?

A. — Yes; that has always been my idea.

<). — How do they treat their sick and helpless'/

A. — I have seen them thrown out <>n the street and on the side-
walk, and I have seen them put into little rooms without light, bed-
ding, or food. There they were left to die.

Q. — What opportunities have these women to escape, if they should
desire?

A. — T don't see that they have any at all, for where a woman
escapes, a reward is offered and she is brought back. Where they
can get her in no other way they use our Courts.

Q. — What proportion of the Chinese are law-breakers, and break-
er- of the ordinances of the city?

A. — I think nearly the whole Chinese population, from the biggest

109

merchant down to the lowest thief. Several years ago I know that
their head) merchants were keepers of gambling-houses arid houses
of prostitution.

Q. — Have you ever seen a Christian Chinaman?

A. — J have seen those who have pretended to be such, but they
will pretend to be anything, if it is of any advantage to them.

Q. — Do you know where the Globe Hotel is?

A.— I do.

Q. — How many people occupied that building before these rail Is
were made?

A. — From eight hundred to one thousand people.

Q. — -About how many white people would occupy a building of
that kind?

A. — One hundred would fill it comfortably.

Q. — Do you know the building on Jackson Street leased to China-
men by the Rev. Dr. Gibson?

A.— I do.

0. — What is its condition?

A. — It is crowded with Chinamen.

Q. — How does it compare with the Globe Hotel for filth ?

A— Worse.

Q. — Have you been in the basements in that quarter?

A — Yes; and in all these places, in all the rooms, you will find
Chinese crowded together two and three tiers deep. In the Globe
Hotel you can find them under the sidewalk, living in a horrible
condition.

Q. — About what proportion of criminals in the County Jail are
< Ihinese?

A. — One-fourth, and more than that sometimes.

Q. — What effect has the presence of this population on the morals
of the community?

A. — Bad ; especially upon the boys. I have noticed a great many
boys — -fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years of age — in the
( 'hinese alleys, amongst Chinawomen. This is very readily accounted
for, from the fact that Chinese women charge only two and four bits,
and as a rule these boys have not much money. They, therefore, go
where there is the least cost.

Ah Chung sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?
A. — Five or six years.
0- — How old are you?
A. — Eighteen.

0- — What have you been doing in California '. ;
A. — Cooking.
Q. — For white people?
A.— Yes.

Q. — Do you know how many Chinese prostitutes there are in San
Francisco ?
A.— I think about one thousand.
Q. — Who own them ?

A. — Wong Woon, An Geo, Bi Ghee, and Wong Fook Soi.
0- — Where do they get them?
A. — They buy in China and bring here.
Q. — What do they give for them in China?

110

A. — About one hundred and fifty dollars.

Q. — What are they worth here?

A. — Some nine hundred and some eight hundred dollars.

Q. — Do they steal some of them in China?

A. — They buy them.

Q. — Do they buy and sell girls in < Ihina ?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — Do you know bow many gambling-houses there are in San
Francisco?

A. — 1 think about two hundred.

Q. — What do the Chinamen do with anybody who testifies in Court
against the women ?

A. — An Geo, Wong Woan, and Ah Fook put up money to kill
him.

Q. — Do you know whether any paper is ever put up offering money
to kill ( 'hinanieii ?

A. — Yes. I saw them.

Q. — Have they threatened to kill you if you testify ?

A. — Yes. I am a little seared.

Q, — What are you afraid of?

A. — Afraid shoot me.

Q. — Do you know of anybody being killed?

A. — Yes.

Q.— What for?

A. — One boy he testify against women, and they kill him with a
knife

An Gow sworn.

Mr. Haymond — Can you speak English'.''

A.— Yes, sir.

Q. — How long have you been in San Francisco?

A — < )ne year.

Q. — How long in California'.-'

A. — Three years.

Q. — Where have you lived?

A. — At Half-moon Bay.

Q— What did you work at?

A . — Making cigars.

( I . — ¥ o r whi t e people ?

A. — No; for a Chinaman — Ah Wah.

Q. — To what company do you belong?

A. — Ning-yeung.

Q. — Do you know anything about threats made against Chinamen
for testifying in the American Courts?

A. — An Geo, Bi Chee, and Wong Woon say they shoot me.

Q.— What for?

A. — They say I pick out prostitutes in Court,

Q, — Are you a witness now?

A. — '\ i s, - ir.

Q. — Do they threaten to shoot you if you tell the truth ?

A.— Yes. sir.

Q. — Do you know anything about notices being posted up offering
rewards for killing men'/

A. — Yes. I have seen them.

Q. — What were you put in jail for lately?

Ill

A. — George Duffield said I bothered the women and the gamblers
by coming into Court against them.

Q. — Do you know how much money the Chinese pay these officers?

A. — The gamblers, five dollars a week; each woman, four bits;
lotteries, eight dollars a month.

Q. — What do the people who own women do, when they become
sick and helpless?

A. — I suppose they take care of them.

Q. — When they are sick and going to die, do they put them on the
street ?

A. — Sometimes.

Q. — Do these people who own women whip them?

A. — The boss women whip them all the time.

Q.— Do you live in the Chinese quarter?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Are you afraid?

A. — Sometimes. I do not go out at night, but stay in the house and
lock my door.

H. H. Ellis sworn.

Mr. Haymond — What is your occupation ?

A. — 1 am Chief of Police of the City and County of San Francisco.

Q. — How long have you resided here?

A. — Since June, eighteen hundred and forty-nine.

Q. — What has been your occupation?

A. — I have been attached to the police department for upwards of
twenty years.

Q. — Are you acquainted with the Chinese quarters of this city?

A.' — Yes, sir.

Q.— What is their condition in relation to cleanliness?

A.- — Very foul and filthy.

_ Q. — Do you know of any quarter of any American or European
citv that will compare with it for filth?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — It is in testimony that there are about thirty thousand Chinese
living in this city, the most of them residing in seven or eight blocks.
Do you know what proportion of that population is criminal?

A. — I should say that there are about one thousand five hundred
or two thousand regular criminals.

<,>. — Including those who violate the city ordinances in relation to
fires and health, and those who live off the wages of the criminal
classes, what is the proportion ?

A. — 1 think almost the entire population.

Q. — Excluding from consideration the Chinese quarter, how are the
laws and ordinances enforced in this city, as compared with other
American cities?

A. — Favorably. The number of arrests are greater in proportion
to each man employed, i have here a table of the arrests made in
twenty cities of the United States. They range from eight to one
hundred and seven per man, and this latter number is credited to
San Francisco. Outside of the Chinese quarter, the laws arc admin-
istered admirably, although we have a very small force of men. The
force of officers in the twenty cities referred to ranges from one to
each two hundred and fifty-eight inhabitants to one in one thousand

112

four hundred and forty-five ; Nashville having the most officers per
capita, and San Francisco the least.

Q. — What are the difficulties in the way of enforcing laws in cases
where the Chinese are concerned?

A. — The Chinese will swear to anything, according to orders.
Their testimony is so unreliable that they cannot be believed..

Q. — What is the greatest difficulty in the way of suppressing pros-
titution and gambling ?

A. — To suppress these vices would require a police force so great
that the city could not stand the expense. It is difficult to admin-
ister justice, because Ave do not understand their language, and thus
all combine to defeat the laws.

Q. — What is their custom of settling cases among themselves, and
then refusing to furnish testimony?

A. — It is generally believed to be true that the Chinese have a
< 'ourt of arbitration where they settle differences.

C>. — After this settlement is made, is it possible to obtain testimony
from the Chinese?

A. — If in secret they determine to convict a Chinaman, or to acquit
him, that judgment is carried out, In a great many cases I believe
they have convicted innocent men through perjured evidence.

Q.- — Do you know anything about offers of rewards being posted
up in this city for the murder of Chinamen?

A. — Yes, sir. I have had such notices taken down and interpreted.

Q. — What influence does the presence of the Chinese have upon
the morals of the white race?

A. — Very injurious.

Q. — In what respect?

A. — I regard the prostitution question as the worst feature of it, for
great numbers of young men visit Chinawomen.

Q. — Are those women held as slaves?

A. — Yes, sir; they are field under a sort of contract, but they very
seldom work it out,

Q. — Is it difficult for those women to escape from that life?

A. — Yes, sir. When they do escape they are brought back by
force, or arrested for some alleged offense.

Q. — Do you know any Christian Chinamen?

A. — I know some Chinamen who profess to be Christians.

Q. — How many have you known in twenty years?

A. — Not more than half a dozen altogether, and I have not any
faith in their sincerity.

Q.— Why not?

A. — Because I think it is done from interested motives entirely.

Q. — Then there has been no success at all connected with mission-
ary labors in that field?

A. — Not so far as my observation goes here and elsewhere. In
Australia, China, Peru, and other places, missionaries have not suc-
ceeded in christianizing Chinese to any extent.

Q,. — Does their presence in this country tend to the advancement
of Christian civilization'/

A. — It has the contrary effect.

Q. — In what estimation is Chinese testimony held here by men
acquainted with the administration of justice?

A. — They look upon their testimony with great suspicion. Asa
class their testimony is unreliable.

113

Q, — Is it not frequently the case that on preliminary examinations
they swear to one state of facts, and on the trial directly the opposite?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know anything about money being collected for the
purpose of paying men around here to see that they were not
molested in their criminal pursuits?

A. — I have heard rumors of such things, but have never known
anything definitely.

Q. — What is the condition of the Chinese quarter generally ?

A. — Filthy beyond description.

NINTH DAY.

San Francisco, April 21st, 1876.

David C. Woods sworn.

Mr. Raymond — How long have you resided in this State?

A. — Twenty-five years, off and on.

Q. — What position do you hold ?

A. — Superintendent of the Industrial School.

Q. — How long have you occupied that position ?

A. — Two years and three months.

Q. — Do you know anything about the effect the presence of a large
Chinese population has upon the boys that are growing up here ?

A. — I think it has a very bad effect. I find that the larger propor-
tion of boys who come to the school, large enough to cohabit with
women, are afflicted with venereal diseases.

Q. — How many boys are usually in that school ?

A.— One hundred and eighty, on an average.

Q. — What proportion do you think are affected with that disease?

A. — I think that, during the time I have been there, fifty have
come with venereal diseases.

Q. — Do you attribute that to the presence of Chinese prostitutes in
this city ?

A. — They tell me so themselves. I question them, and they say
they got it in Chinatown?

Q. — What are the ages of those boys?

A. — We have had them as young as thirteen, with gonorrhoea ; they
have all sorts of venereal diseases. There is no time that I have had
less than two or four down with them.

Mr. Donovan — How many boys have entered that institution since
you have been there ?

A. — Two hundred and fifty or three hundred, I think.

Q — And fifty of them have been afflicted with disease?

A. — At least that number; some come there with it very apparent.
It develops in others after they have been there a few days. Some
are so badly diseased that it is impossible to cure them.

Q. — Do you have physicians?

A. — Yes, sir; I also doctor some of them myself. I am an old sea
captain, and understand those diseases pretty well, because they are
very prevalent among sailors.

114
The following resolution was adopted by the committee:

Resolved, That H. H. Ellis, Chief of Police of the City and County of San Francisco, be and
is hereby requested to detail a competent officer to collect statistics as to the number of Chinese
employed in the various avocations in San Francisco.

Hong Chung sworn.

Mr. Donovan — How long have you been in this country?

A. — Twenty-four years.

Q. — Are you in business here?

A. — I am Inspector for the Sam-yup Company.

Q. — Have you declared your intention of becoming an American
citizen ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Have you got your first papers?

A. — Yes, sir; last December.

Q. — Are many other Chinamen going to become citizens?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — A great many ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Will all become American citizens?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And stay here?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Will they become candidates for the office of Governor of the
State as soon as they are citizens?

A. — May be; I don't know. They are going to become citizens. T
like to be citizen. American man make no good laws for Chinaman.
We make good laws for ( Jhinaman citizens.

Q. — Would you like to be Governor of the State of California?

A. — Of course. I like the State of California a long time; I like a
free country.

Q. — Would you like to be Governor?

A. — I cannot be Governor. I like the State of California, and like
to be a citizen of the American man's people.

Q. — Would you like to hold office under the free American Gov-
ernment ?

A. — No, I wouldn't do it.

Committee adjourned to meet in the State Capitol building, at
Sacramento.

TENTH DAY.

Sacramento, May 2d, 1876.

Committee met in Sacramento, in the State Capitol building, at
two o'clock, pursuant to adjournment. Mr. Haymond in the chair.

Charles P. O'Neil sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — Twenty-seven years.

Q. — How long have you resided in Sacramento City?

A. — Twenty years.

115

Q. — How long have you been on the police force here?

A. — Twenty years.

Q. — What has been your duty ; have you been a special or a reg-
ular?

A. — For the last fourteen years I have been a special and a Deputy
Sheriff.

Q. — In what part of the city?

A. — Principally on I Street, in the Chinese quarter.

Q. — What part of the city do the Chinese quarters take up?

A. — On I Street, from Sixth to Second.

Q. — What is the condition of the streets in that part of the city, in
regard to cleanliness, as compared with other portions of the city?

A. — It is very good, for the Health Officer makes them keep the
streets clean.

Q. — About how many Chinese do you suppose there are in the city?

A. — In and about the city I suppose there are about two thousand.

Q. — What employments do they follow — that is, the major por-
tion ?

A. — Those outside the city, gardening, working in the sugar mill,
woolen mill, bucket factory, working around the flour mills, and
working out as servants.

Q. — Are there any Chinese women here?

A, — Yes, sir; there are a couple of hundred, the most of them
being prostitute?.

Q. — How many Chinese families are there in this city — men with
their wives and children?

A. — There are not a great many. It is a very unusual thing for
Chinamen to bring their families here from China, so much so that
I never even heard of such a case. In conversation with me, they
always speak as if opposed to such a thing.

Q. — Do you know how these women are held — whether they are
owned by anybody, or whether anybody claims to own them?

A. — Only from hearsay. I have heard them (the Chinamen) fre-
quently say that they bought them. On one occasion I was called
into a Chinese house, and there saw four hundred and fifty dollars
pass between a woman and a man. They wanted me to be a witness
to the fact, and I witnessed it. Some time afterwards the woman
told me that her boss had sold her for four hundred and fifty dollars.
That was the contract I witnessed, but it being in Chinese I did not
understand it at the time. The woman soon after committed suicide
She did not like this man to whom she had been sold, and committed
suicide by drowning. From my experience as an officer, I know that
these women are kept under close surveillance.

Q. — Is it possible for them to escape, or is there any reasonable
probability that any of them could escape from that servitude".''

A. — No; not without they are protected by the white people. I
have known them to attempt to escape, and have known them to
have been sent for and brought back. To do this they use different
means, principally money. They use, also, the machinery of the
American Courts to enforce these contracts, it being customary to
have these women arrested for larceny or some crime, in order to get
the more secure possession of them. In the prevention of this thing
the principal difficulty lies in the fact that we don't understand their
language. We do not know what they are getting at, and they will
tell such well concocted stories that it is almost impossible to get at

116

the truth as we can with white persons. A Chinaman has a right to
go before a magistrate and make out that a crime has been committed
by a person, and a magistrate, having no means of ascertaining the
truth, must issue his warrant.

Q. — As a people, what is the rule as to the reliability to be placed
upon their oaths?

A. — It depends a great deal on circumstances. They will protect
one another in a great measure. There are some of the Chinese
merchants that are very good people, but then there are a great many
others that they can use for almost any purpose that they want

Q. — Do you know anything about any organizations existing
among the Chinese for the protection of their members against the
laws of this country, or for the enforcement of their own laws inde-
pendent of the action of the authorities ?

A. — The only thing I know about that is this : A case was tried in
the County Court, a short time ago, where some parties were convicted
of robbery. One of the members of the Chinese Wash-house Asso-
ciation violated some rule, and they forced him to pay sixty dollars.
The parties were arrested and convicted, and I believe that the case
is now before the Supreme Court.

Q. — It was in some proceeding of a Chinese tribunal that it was
adjudged that he should pay sixty dollars?

A. — Yes, sir; and they enforced that judgment, and took the sixty
dollars, with the aid of a pistol. Mr. Fratt was very active in his
prosecution of the offenders, and in his protection of this Chinaman.
The difficulties in the way of administration of justice are our ignor-
ance of their language, and because they band together to defeat that
administration. I have not known of cases where Chinese witnesses
swore to one thing at the preliminary examination, and another at
the trial ; but I have known them to go away. I have hear them say
they settled the matter all up, and when the case came on there were
no witnesses.

Q, — Is it done, in crimes of any magnitude, as murder and burglary?

A. — Yes, sir ; almost anything can be settled.

Q. — How many Chinese houses of prostitution are there here?

A. — Twenty-five or thirty.

Q. — How many Chinese are there in Sacramento?

A. — About two thousand.

Q. — What is the white population?

A. — About twenty-two thousand.

Q. — Do you know anything about young men and boys frequenting
these houses of prostitution ?

A. — Young men and boys formerly frequented these houses of
prostitution, but it has been done very little of late, because of the
watchfulness of the officers on duty. I used to have a great deal of
trouble every week whaling boys off from I Street. The Chinese,
of course, encouraged their visits, and I did all 1 could to stop them.
These houses are now only partly open. The last Grand Jury rather
closed up gambling and houses of prostitution, as a general thing.

Q— Do you think that it would be possible for the Chief of Police
of this city, or the police authorities, to suppress those houses en-
tirely ?

A. — Yes, sir; by arresting the people as fast as they would open
them. It would be hard, perhaps impossible, to obtain any convic-
tions, but that proceeding would, I think, stop it,

117

Q. — Do you know how these women are treated by the persons who
own them ?

A. — It looks to me like they were very closely confined in the
houses. I have known the masters and mistresses to whip the
women, but I have never heard of it a second time where I have
gone and cautioned them. When they become sick and helpless,
they turn them out to die. I have known two cases where they have
put them in empty houses and left them there to die. In one case I
took the woman and had her conveyed to the hospital, where she
died. I found her in a high fever, alone! in an unfurnished room.
She was sitting in a corner, moaning. I found the party who hired
the room and the party who put her there. I went for him, but he
"got up and dusted." I haven't seen him since. The Chinese have
some superstition in regard to persons dying in their houses, and that
will probably account for the manner of treatment. They believe
that to let one die in the house brings bad luck.

Q. — Do you know anything about any Chinese gambling-houses?

A. — Yes, sir ; there are Chinese gambling-houses around there.

Q. — How many?

A. — There are none just now, for they have been closed up; but
there used to be all the way from four to sixteen or seventeen. About
three persons were engaged in each house, or forty or fifty engaged
directly in the gambling business.

Q. — What proportion of the Chinese on I Street do you suppose
belong to the criminal classes ; that is, engaged in prostitution, living
off the fruits of prostitution, gambling, living off the fruits of gamb-
ling, petty larcenies, etc. ?

A. — On I Street there are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred
of what we call " highbinders," living off the houses of prostitution,
and they are mixed up with the gamblers. You might call them
hoodlums. They band together and make raids on the gambling-
houses and on the women, and make them give them money. They
live in that way : always ready for a fight at any moment among
themselves, and against anybody that may oppose them. They go
together in gangs, and will number about two hundred. With the
women, this criminal class will number at least four hundred, or one-
fifth of the entire Chinese population of the city. The petty thieves,
shop-lifters, etc., range with these highbinders, and go along picking-
articles from doorways, etc < >n J Street one will probably go inside
to buy something, when a confederate or two will walk off with a pair
of pants or boots, or anything that can be carried off.

Q. — From your experience, as an officer, what effect do you think
that population has upon the morals of this city ?

A. — I don't think it has much effect upon the morals of this city.

Q.-Why?

A. — There are not enough ot them.

Q. — Do you know anything about any of the men being held in
servitude, or under labor contracts?

A. — Xo, sir.

Q. — Do you know anything about any boys being diseased because
of the Chinese women ?

A. — Not for the last two or three years. During this time the offi-
cers and myself have been vigilant, and gem rally have driven these
bovs off the street when thev came there. The Chinawomen have

118

the reputation of being diseased as a general thing, but of this I have
no personal knowledge.

Q. — Do you know of any cases of leprosy in this city?

A. — There is one knocking around town somewhere — a man. I
haven't seen him lately; he was around Fifth Street. There was
another here but he died, and this old fellow came here, I think,
from Stockton. There are some Chinese in our hospital, but I do
not know how many.

Q, — Have they any respect for our oath?

A. — None, sir. From my judgment, after twenty years' experience
as an officer, I can say that they will swear whichever way their inter-
ests run; or will swear for any pecuniary gain — that is, the most of
them. Of course there are some who are honest and straightforward,
but they are exceptions. As a population, the Chinese are largely
criminal, when we consider perjury in the list. They are ready to
do anything for their own interest and immediate advancement.

Q. — Through the exertions of yourself and some other officers you
prevented boys from going to these quarters?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Were these women always ready and willing to solicit these
boys to enter their houses?

A. — Yes, sir; whenever they would come along.

Q. — Stop at the window and knock for little boys passing?

A. — Stand at the door or window, and say, "Come in; come in."
I never saw small boys there; never any boys less than thirteen or
fourteen years old.

0- — Don't you think boys of that age too small for that offense?

A. — Not in California. They might be back East. I have found
such boys in these houses and driven them out. I have also known
eases where young girls, dressed up as boys, went to these places — out
of curiosity, perhaps.

Q. — Do you know an} r Christian Chinamen?

A. — I knew one.

Q. — How long since?

A. — Several years ago, in San Francisco.

Q. — Have you ever known of any Christians here?

A. — No, sir; nor do I believe that there ever was one made in Cali-
fornia.

Q. — Do vou know of any Chinese mission here?

A.— Oh^ yes.

Q. — Who runs that mission — white people?

A. — Yes, sir; a great many young ladies go there to instruct the
Chinese. They instruct men only — men and boys.

Q. — Do these young ladies ever attempt to teach the women any-
thing?

A. — No, sir. Go to the churches every Sunday evening and you
can see them teaching the Chinamen.

Q. — What are they teaching them?

A. — The Bible and all those good things.

Q. — What effect does that teaching have on them?

A. — It makes confirmed scoundrels of them.

Q. — -Do you know anything about any opium dens?

A. — Most of their houses are so. They have places to smoke opium
in almost every house. There are three or four places were white
women went to smoke, but I have not seen any of them since last fall.

119

Q. — How arc the Chinese, as a race, given to the vice of opium
smoking?

A. — About as much as American people to taking; their regular
"tod."

Q. — You say that this Christianity they are taught makes confirmed
scoundrels of them?

A. — There are very few Chinamen I have seen — of course there are
some exceptions — that become " Christians," and learn to talk good
English, who do not become rascals. They go to these schools solely
to learn English. I have heard Chinamen frequently say that they
went to these places simply to " catch ee English." I have asked
them why they went, and that is the reason they have always given
me. They laugh at the idea of being converted to Christianity. On
one Sunday there was a Chinese missionary down on I Street, singing
hymns, and directly opposite the Chinese were having their religious
festival, commonly called "driving the devil out." There was an old
Chinaman there, Billy Holung, who has been around here for twenty
years, and turning to him I asked what the Christian performance
was. He said it was a Christian church. I asked him what he was
talking about, and he said: " He is talking about Jesus Christ; he
is damn fool — he never see Jesus Christ." There is a mission here,
too. 1 do not know how many members it has. There are China-
men who claim to be converted, who preach every Sunday on Third
and 1 Streets. There are about fifteen or twenty of them, I think.
A Chinaman leads it. I have not seen a white man there more than
once since they went there. I do not believe in Chinese religious
sincerity, so far as Christianity is concerned.

Q. — Do the Chinese come here to stay?

A.— No, sir.

Q. — How long do they remain?

A. — They stay until they gather so much money, and then they
leave for China, There are some here who have made ^two, three,
and four trips to their own country-

Q. — What is considered a fortune among the Chinese?

A. — Between two hundred dollars and three hundred dollars is
considered a pretty good stake by the working classes.

Q, — Are they satisfied to go back when they get that?

A.— Yes.

Q. — What do the Chinese do around here?

A. — They lease grounds and raise garden produce, principally for
San Francisco. They work in the beet sugar factory, in the woolen
mills, and in the flour mills. They also work as servants and farm
hands.

Q. — Do you know of any who are making shirts or doing sewing?

A. — I don't think there are over two or three places here where
they do that kind of work. Nearly all of it is done in San Francisco.

Q. — What are they doing at the sugar factory ?

A. — They are raising beet and making sugar. The company em-
ploys them so it can compete with Eastern white labor.

Q. — Do you know anything about one portion of the Chinese sup-
porting another?

A. — That is done in this way : Servants working out are obliged to
support those out of employment. Six or seven of them live in a
room together, and to support those doing nothing those working in
families are compelled to take grub from the houses.

120

Q.— Do they steal it?
A. — Yes, sir.

Ah Dan sworn.

Mr. Hayinond — How long have you been in California ?

A. — Almost ten years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — Back of Canton.

Q. — How old are you now?

A. — I believe I am twenty-eight.

Q. — What have you been doing since you came to California?

A. — Cooking in kitchens and working in restaurants.

Q. — Have you been living with Americans most of the time ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Have you ever been interpreter in the Police Court ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Have you any fears about testifying here and telling all you
know ? Are you afraid ?

A. — I ain't much afraid. I came up here to swear, and I must tell
all I know.

Q. — Have ever any threats been made against you for testifying in
the Police Court, or for interpreting truly ?

A. — Yes, sir ; I am afraid because Chinamen got too much to gas
about. Because one got convicted he think it all a put up job by me.
In Sacramento City two interpreters killed.

Q. — Do you know how Chinamen who come to California come
here?

A. — Yes. Some come themselves, paying their own fare out of
money they have earned working out; when they have no money
they borrow it, agreeing to pay a good rate of interest. Sometimes,
where a man is honest, no security is required ; but where he is not
good the lender takes a mortgage on whatever property he may have.

Q. — How do the women come here?
_ A.— Sometimes they come here, when little young girls, and some-
times they come here for husbands.

Q. — Do you know whether any of them are stolen and brought here?

A. — Some are.

Q. — Do you know whether any are bought in China and brought
here ?

A. — I guess there are some. I don't know that they are owned
here by Chinamen; but some men tell me they own women.

Q. — Do they buy and sell these women here?

A. — Yes ; I believe that.

< t ». — How much does a woman sell for here?

A. — Sometimes four hundred or five hundred dollars; sometimes
more, sometimes less.

Q. — You never sold any?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — What do they do with these women when they are sick and
are going to die?

A. — When these women get sick and unable to work and make
more money, if they have friends, they are cared for; if they have
no friends, nobody looks after them. Sometimes a woman gets and
lives with one man ; but if they can, the owners bring her back. If
they can't get her back any other way, they sometimes kidnap her.

121

Q. — Do you know the six companies?

A. — Yes, sir; I guess so. They are to take care of Chinamen
belonging to their own company. They have nothing to do with the
women. They deal only with men. They charge Chinamen so
much, so as to buy building, just like Capitol, maybe, which the
company owns. When Chinaman gets into trouble, he gets taken
care of; when he wants to go from one city to another, the company
furnishes money, and he pays it back again. Suppose he don't pay
it right away, he pays it after a while. If he don't pay, they never
kill him. I have never heard anything of the kind. If a young-
man, able to work, wants to go to China, he must first pay his debts;
but if he is old and poor, and can't pay up, they let him go home.
Each Chinaman pays the company ten dollars. This money is used
to buy a house and pay expenses, same as white people buy a State
Capitol. In case a Chinaman is injured by another Chinaman, his
company tries to enforce the American law for the punishment of
the offender.

Q, — You say there were two interpreters killed in Sacramento ?

A. — Yes, sir ; one was Ah Quong, and one Ah Gow.

Q. — -How long ago ?

A. — I wasn't in California the first one ; Ah Quong, two years ago.

Q. — What was he killed for?

A. — Because he interpreted in Court. Chinamen thought he ought
to have American man get Chinaman clear. They thought he had
power to do it ; but he couldn't do it, and they killed him.

Q. — If you are interpreting in Court, and you don't get a man
clear, will they kill you?

A. — No, sir ; I am not afraid when I do what is right.

Q. — Have they threatened to kill you if you did not get Chinamen
clear ?

A. — No ; not yet. Sometimes they get talking on the street about
gambling-houses on I Street, and Chinamen blame me for stopping
them.

Q. — What do they threaten to do — threaten to kill you ?

A. — Talking about killing me.

Q. — Do you know District Attorney Jones ?

A. — Yes, sir.

"Q. — Did you tell him last week that some of them threatened to
kill you ?

A. — Yes, sir ; some of them. A man came to me a few days ago
and told me they were going to kill a Police Court interpreter,
advising me to leave the city, because he said somebody would come
and kill me; some men had put up rewards, and some men whom I
did not know were coming from San Francisco to kill me. I was
before the Grand Jury and explained the game of "tan," and for this
they put up the reward, and I am to be killed by three men from San
Francisco I don't know. The reward offered for my life is five or
six hundred dollars. I have heard of rewards of this kind being put
up here and elsewhere. I have not seen any here, but have in San
Francisco. They are in Chinese, and posted up, saying that these
men will make agreement, if some man kill another, to pay the mur-
derer so much money. These agreements for murder are red papers
written in Chinese, and say they will give so much money on condi-
tion you kill so-and-so, naming the person. If the murderer is
arrested, they will get good counsel to defend him. If he is sent to

122

prison, they will pay him so much money to recompense him, and
if he is hung they will send so much money to his relatives in China.

Q. — Did you go to officer Jackson and ask him not to subpoena
you, if he could help it, in the Hung Hi case?

A. — Yes. I said to him, "1 don't know about the case. If you put
mc on the stand, and it don't go as they want it, they will blame me."

Q. — Didn't you tell him you were afraid they would kill you?

A. — I did tell him so.

Q. — You were afraid ?

A. — Yes, sir. I told Charley O'Neil some put up money to kill
me. He told me not to fear — to keep a look out for myself. In case
I testify here to all I know, I'm afraid they will kill me.

Charles T. Jones sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been District Attorney of this
county?

A. — A little over two years.

Q. — Do you have any difficulty in administering justice, where
Chinese are parties?

A. — During my term of office I have had considerable to do with
Chinese criminals, and always have great difficulty in convicting
them of any crime. I remember well the case of Ah Quong, spoken
of a few moments ago by Ah Dan. At the time I was defending three
parties charged with kidnaping, and I had Ah Quong as interpreter,
knowing him to be honest and capable. The circumstances of the
case were these: A Chinaman wanted to marry a woman then in a
house of prostitution. She desired to marry him, and he went with
two of his friends to the house. She went with them. They drove
out of town to get married, when the Chinamen who owned her
heard of it, and started some officers after her. She was arrested and
surrendered to these Chinamen, with instructions to bring her into
Court next day. I had this man to interpret for me, being well satis-
fied that she would swear that she was not being kidnaped. The
next day the owners brought into Court a woman whom the defend-
ants informed me was not the one at all, but another. The attorneys
for the other side insisted that it was, believing the statements of
their Chinamen to that effect. The case was postponed for two or
three days, when it was shown that the woman offered was not the
one taken away. This interpreter told me they would kill him as
sure as these defendants were not convicted. We went out of the
Court-room, and he told me he was afraid to go on I Street. I told him
he hadn't better go then, but I did not think they would trouble him.
Half an hour afterwards he was brought back, shot in the back, and
a hatchet having been used on him, mutilating him terribly. This
was in broad daylight, about eleven o'clock in the morning, on Third
and I Streets, one of th*e most public places in the City of Sacra-
mento. There were hundreds of Chinese around there at the time,
but it was difficult, in the prosecution of the case, to get any Chinese
testimony at all. It happened that there were a few white men p iss-
ing at the time, and we were enabled to identify two men, and they
were convicted and sent to the State Prison for life, after three trials.
They attempted to prove an alibi, and alter swearing a large lot of
Chinamen they said they had twenty more. The Chinese use the
Courts to gain possession of women. Sometimes it happens that.
where a man is married to a woman, they get out a warrant for his

arrest, and before he can get bail they have stolen the woman, and
carried her off to some distant place. I have had Chinamen come
to me to find out how many witnesses I had in cases. If they found
out, they would get sufficient testimony to override me. Before I was
District Attorney I have had Chinese come to me to defend them,
and ask me how many witnesses I wanted, and what was necessary
to prove in order to acquit.

Q. — Do you often find that upon preliminary examinations and
before the Grand Jury there is enough testimony to warrant a con-
viction, but on the trial these same witnesses swear to an exactly
opposite state of facts ?

A. — Very frequently.

Q. — To what do you attribute that?

A. — I attribute that to the fact that they had tried the case in
Chinese Courts, where it had been finally settled. I have records in
my office of a Chinese tribunal of that kind, wdiere they tried offenders
according to their own rules, meted out what punishment they deemed
proper, etc. These records were captured in a room on I Street,
between Fourth and Fifth. There was a Chinaman here who opened
a wash-house on Second Street, underneath the Orleans Hotel. It
appears that he was a member of the Chinese Wash-house Associa-
tion, and that they had a rule that no wash-house should be opened
within ten doors of one already opened. This new house was opened
within the prescribed limits, and the association held a meeting.
One of the charges was that he was in partnership with a white
man — a foreigner, their rules forbidding any such arrangement, and
they lined him, I think, thirty dollars. The Chinaman went to Mr.
Fratt, who told him he would protect him. Then they held another
meeting, and, as was proved on the trial of these cases, they deter-
mined that he should pay one hundred and ten dollars, or they
would kill him. They sent out three of their number, and they met
him on Third, between I and J. One had a knife, another a pistol,
and the other one made a demand, telling him that if he did not pay
one hundred and ten dollars they would kill him immediately. He
had sixty dollars in his pocket, and he gave them that. He went and
told Mr. Fratt, and these three men were arrested for robbery. The
society held another meeting, and the whole meeting was arrested as
conspirators, these records being captured. I had them translated
by an interpreter from San Francisco, and used them on the trial of
the robbery cases. The records recite that the members enter into a
solemn compact not to enter into partnership with a foreigner; that
this man did so, and the company offers so many round dollars to
the man who will kill him. They promise to furnish a man to assist
the murderer, and they promise, if he is arrested, they will employ
able counsel to defend him. If convicted, he should receive, I think,
three dollars for every day he would be confined, and in case he died,
certain monej 7 ' would be sent to his relatives. These records appeared
in evidence and were admitted ; also, a poster that was taken from a
house, offering a reward for the killing of this man. This poster was
placed on a house in a public street. Beingjtwritten in Chinese, of
course they alone knew its contents, and informed us of them. I have
frequently had Chinese come to me with offers of pecuniary reward
if I would let off' some Chinese criminal. They generally come alone,
but never broach the subject in the presence of white men. This
man, Ah Bean, who keeps a store on the corner of Fifth and I Streets,

124

has clone that. When he returned from China the first thing he did,
on seeing me, was to say : " Charley, you District Attorney now and
I am very glad. We will make a heap of money. There is heap
Chinese here. Some pay out too much to lawyers. Now, whenever
a Chinese case happens you fix it up; Chinamen pay you so much
money , you take half, I take half." They don't seem to understand
that that involves moral turpitude. Being as careful as they are to
have no white witnesses around when they make their offers, of
course I could not convict them of bribery. This Ah Bean is a spec-
imen Chinamen, and would attract your attention immediately. He
pretends to be higher than the rest of the Chinese here and holds
himself as much better than the balance.

Q. — Can you rely upon the oaths of Chinamen?

A. — No, sir ; not at all, whenever their interests are in the least
concerned. They will swear whichever way they may deem most
advantageous, irrespective of truth, justice, or honesty.

Q. — Have you ever known a Christian Chinaman ?

A.— I have known Chinamen who pretend to be Christians, and I
have heard them preach and pray. I think this Chinese Christianity
is all a mere pretense. I would not trust a Christian Chinaman any
quicker than I would any other, but I would be a little more suspi-
cious in that case, because they become sharper.

Q. — Why do they go to the Christian Sunday-schools?

A. — They go to learn English. I have had Chinamen, who pre-
tended to be very devout Christians, tell me that the only reason they
went to Sunday-school and church was to learn English without any
expense to themselves.

0,. — Suppose a Chinaman should assist the officers in bringing Chi-
nese criminals to justice — would that be a dangerous thing for him?

A. — I think it would. I am satisfied that they have their own tri-
bunals, where they try all these cases.

Q. — What chance have these women, who are held in prostitution,
to escape ?

A. — They have a very small chance.

Q. — In case of escape, do they ever resort to the Courts, in order to
regain possession of the women ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you think the presence of Chinese in California tends to
the advancement of Christian civilization?

A. — I do not.

Q. — About what proportion of the Chinese here belong to the crim-
inal classes?

A. — A large portion do, while I believe that every Chinaman will
steal when he gets a chance. I believe the Chinese merchants here,
in a manner, control the petty thieves, receive their stolen goods, and
get them out of trouble when arrested.

Q. — Do you think it possible to entirely break up these houses of
prostitution and gambling in this city?

A. — It would be very difficult. The Chinese resort to perjury in
all cases, and many \v*hite men find it impossible to identify China-
men.

The Committee adjourned until ten o'clock to-morrow.

125

ELEVENTH DAY.

Sacramento, May 3d, 1876.

James Duffy sworn.

Mr. Haymond—HoYf long have you resided in the City of Sacra-
mento?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty-two.

Q. — Do you know anything about the Chinese quarter?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q.— Do you know anything about the condition of their houses, as
to cleanliness?

A. — They are horribly dirty. I have never been in a Chinese
house yet that wasn't more like a water-closet than a house.

Q. — You are an expressman ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How are the streets kept?

A. — I Street is very dirty. They throw a great many slops into the
street and into the back yards, and between them all there is a ter-
rible mess.

Q. — Do they live as white people do?

A. — No, sir. You and your wife could not live where thirty of
them live.

Q. — Do you know anything of boys visiting houses of prostitution?

A. — I have seen small boys visit their houses of prostitution. In
one instance I saw a woman entice a boy of about eleven years of
age into her house. I got a policeman, George Harvey, and had both
parties arrested. The woman, I think, deposited ten dollars for her
appearance, but forfeited it next morning.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know of white people being discharged to
give place to Chinamen?

A. — I have heard white ladies say so. They said they would prefer
white help, if they would work for the same price as Chinamen.

Q. — Do you know of any boys being diseased by having visited the
Chinese quarter?

A. — No more than I have heard.

Q. — What is the common report ?

A. — That no one goes there except he gets diseased.

Q. — What is the common report as to truth-telling among the Chi-
nese?

A. — A Chinaman will tell a lie for ten cents, and swear to it.

Q. — What is their character for honesty — are they generally con-
sidered honest, or thieves?

A. — There might be one in the city perhaps that would not steal,
but you would have to look pretty hard to find him. I don't think
there is a Chinaman in this city that would not steal. They are all
thieves, liars, and perjurers.

Mr. ffaymond — Why can they afford to do work cheaper than
white men?

A. — They can work cheaper than the white man, because they have
no families to support, and therefore live much cheaper. Their
living does not cost them over fifteen cents per day. Take a laboring
man here who has a wife and two children dependent upon him, and
his expenses at the very least are two dollars and fifty cents a day,
and he must live very economicallv to make that amount do. Where

126

a white laboring man has no family, his necessary expenses will be
from one dollar and seventy- five cents to two dollars a day. He can
board for twenty dollars a month, and his washing, clothing, etc.,
will make np the balance. Most of the Chinese here wear clothes of
Chinese manufacture, consume goods imported from China, and all
their dealings are against the American interests. Where they do
not board themselves, they can be accommodated — boarded and
lodged — at houses in Chinatown for one dollar and fifty cents a week,
and less.

Q. — When Chinese become hopelessly sick, what do they do with
them ?

A. — T know of cases where women, hopelessly sick, have been
turned out to die of disease or starvation, or both. I have been with
undertakers after the bodies of sueh persons. One we found alone
in a wash-house, dead. There was no furniture in the room, and
nothing for the sick woman to subsist upon. When a Chinaman
dies, you can hardly get another Chinaman to touch the body, or
even the coffin containing it ; and it is often a difficult job to get any
help from them at their funerals.

James Coffey sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in California?

A. — Twenty-one years.

Q. — What have you been engaged in during that time?

A. — Driving stage most of the time. For the last two years I have
been on the police force in Sacramento.

Q.— In what part of the State were you driving stage?

A. — AH over.

Q. — In the mining section?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Where they employed Chinese?

A. — A few.

Q. — What was the condition of the Chinese quarters in the various
mining towns?

A. — Very poor.

Q. — How do they live ?

A. — Most generally in tents, in those days.

Q. — In communities by themselves?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Since you have been on the police force here, have you had
occasion to visit the Chinese quarters?

A. — Very often.

Q. — In what condition are their houses, and how do they live?

A. — They are in very poor condition, and the Chinamen live more
like hogs than men. A great many are living in basements below
the streets, except a few women who live on the first floors.

Q. — Do you know anything about young boys visiting Chinese
houses of prostitution ?

A. — I have seen several.

Q. — Of what ages?

A. — Twelve, fourteen, and sixteen years old.

Q. — Do you know whether any of them have been diseased ?

A. — I do not.

Q. — Do you know whether these women arc owned or not?

A. — They are bought and sold just like we buy and sell cattle. The

127

merchants here, who claim to be connected with the six companies,
also claim ownership of these Chinese women.

Q, — Do you know what they do with these women when they
become sick and helpless?

A. — Some are taken care of, and some are placed in rooms by them-
selves to die. Then hardly anybody goes to see them. They are
turned out to die. I have known two cases of that kind in China-
town during the last year — one man and one woman.

Q, — Have these women any chance to escape from this servitude?

A. — It is very hard for them to escape. There is somebody on the
alert at all hours of the day and night. AVhen they do escape, the
laws of this country are used to reclaim them, in many instances.
Sometimes they are arrested for trumped up crimes, and sometimes
taken back by force.

Q. — What is your experience as to the reliability of Chinese testi-
mony in Court?

A. — It is not to be relied upon at all.

Q. — Do the police have much difficulty in ferreting out crime where
the Chinese are interested?

A. — Yes, sir. We do not understand their language, and it is
impossible to get interpreters whom we can trust.

Q. — Have you ever seen any Christian Chinamen?

A. — I have never seen a really Christian Chinaman, nor do I believe
that there is a single Chinaman who believes in the Christian relig-
ion. I don't think there is one in existence. I have seen China-
men at Sunday-schools singing, and they say they go to learn the
American style of religion. I have had a good deal of business with
Christian Chinamen, and from my experience I have learned to watch
them more closely than I do the unregenerated. I have found them
meaner and more unprincipled than the ordinary Chinese?

Q. — Has this Chinese population a good effect upon the city, or a
bad one?

A. — Bad, I think. I cannot see any good that can come from it.

Matt. K archer sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in the City of Sacra-
mento ?

A. — Twenty-five years.

Q. — What has been your occupation during that time?

A. — I kept a bakery for about fourteen years, and was connected
with the police force for eleven years. During four years I was Chief
of Police here.

Q, — Do you know that part of the city known as the Chinese
quarter ?

A.— I do.

Q. — How do they live, and what is their condition as to cleanli-
ness ?

A. — They live in small rooms, filthy, as a general thing — so much
so that several times, when going in them, I have had to come out
and vomit. They are as filthy as can be.

Q. — Is there any difficulty in enforcing the laws of the State, where
the Chinese are parties?

A. — There is a great deal — caused, first, by our not being acquainted
with their language, and in the second place, the Chinese, as a gen-
eral thing, will swear to anything. I have never yet come across one

128

that would not perjure himself where his interests were concerned.
I did think at one time that I had found one that I could believe
under oath, but I have changed my mind. I would not now believe
one under oath, unless he were corroborated by other circumstances.
I would want the corroboration to be proof in itself.

Q. — Is that the general estimation in which Courts and juries hold
their testimony ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q, — Do you know who own or claim to own the Chinawomen who
are prostitutes here?

A. — Merchants here, who pretend to be respectable — Chinese mer-
chants, I mean.

Q. — Are they buying and selling these women ?

A. — That is my opinion, from my experience.

Q. — How are they treated ?

A. — Where one is young and good-looking, and makes plenty of
money, she is well treated. Those who are unable to make much
are treated very badly.

Q. — How young are the youngest that you know of as being held?

A. — -I have seen them as young as fifteen years.

Q. — What chance have they to escape from this life, if they desire ?

A. — They have very little chance.

Q.— Why is that?

A. — Because the Chinese will swear to almost anything, and if one
is taken away by another, she is simply run off to another locality
to be sold into slavery again. Sometimes the farce of marrying is
gone through with in order to get the woman, who may be beyond
their reach. As soon as the newly-made husband gets possession of
his bride he turns her over to her former owners.

Q. — Do you know of cases where they have had Chinamen arrested
and convicted of crime simply because they have interfered with
them ?

A. — Yes, sir. The arresting officer and the District Attorney have
to be very careful lest they be made the instruments of sending inno-
cent men to State Prison. Sometimes, where several men are arrested,
one will be offered whom we may convict if we will let the others go.
Several men were arrested here some time ago for robbing Harper's
shoe store. These fellows put up a man who admitted that he was
guilty, but I did not believe he had anything to do with it. These
( 'liinese leaders offered to furnish me with all the evidence I wanted,
if I would have a nolle pros, entered in the other cases.

Q, — Do you know anything about their putting up offers of rewards
upon walls and street corners, written in Chinese, for the murder or
assassination of given Chinamen?

A . — Yes. Of course I could not read Chinese, but I secured some
of these posters, and had an interpreter from San Francisco come up
here and interpret them. They were rewards for the murder of some
Chinamen who did something contrary to their laws. They have
their own tribunals where they try Chinamen, and their own laws to
govern them. In this way the administration of justice is often
defeated entirely, or, at least, to a very great extent. I know this
because I was present at a meeting of one of their tribunals about
seven years ago. There was some thirty or forty Chinamen there,
one appearing to act as Judge. Finally, the fellow on trial was con-
victed and had to pay so much money, as a fine for the commission

129

of the offense with which he was charged. Generally, their punish-
ments are in the nature of fines ; but sometimes they sentence the
defendant to death. In cases in the Police Court we have often
found it difficult to make interpreters act. They would tell us that
they would be killed if they spoke the truth; that their tribunals
would sentence them to death, and pay assassins to dispatch them.
About two years and a half or three years ago, Ah Quong was killed.
During the trial, at which he was interpreter, there were a great
many Chinamen. I stationed officers at the doors, and then caused
each one to be searched as he came out of the room, the interpreter
having told me that he feared they would murder him. Upon these
Chinamen I found all sorts of weapons — hatchets, pistols, bowie-
knives, Chinese swords, and many others. There were forty-five
weapons in all, I think, concealed about their persons in all kinds of
ways. The interpreter testified in that case, and half an hour after
leaving the Court-room he was brought back, shot and cut with
hatchets. He was terribly mutilated, and lived only a few moments
after being brought to the station-house. The murderers were
arrested, but attempted to prove an alibi, and had a host of Chinese
witnesses present for that purpose. Although there were some hun-
dreds of Chinese present at the time of the murder, the prosecution
was forced to rely upon the evidence of a few white men who chanced
to see the deed committed. We were opposed at every turn by the
Chinamen and the Chinese companies. As a general thing it is
utterly impossible to enforce the laws with any certainty against
those people, while they will themselves use our laws to persecute
innocent men who have gained their enmity. They seem to have no
ideas concerning the moral obligation of an oath, and care not for
our form of swearing.

Q.- — Have you ever seen any Christian Chinamen ?

A. — Never. Some make a pretense of being Christians.

Q. — For what purpose ?

A. — Principally to further their own ends in some way or other —
get into the confidence of families, where they are working — get into
the confidence of the master or mistress and stay there for probably
a year or two, and afterwards, if they have a chance, they rob them.
Several instances have occurred in this town.

Q. — Don't you find this to be the case frequently : Robberies are
committed in families; you suggest it is a Chinese domestic, and
they protest against it, and afterwards you make proof of it?

A. — Yes, sir; that has occurred frecmently. In one particular
instance, a certain lady in this town felt very indignant that I even
mentioned such a thing as that her Chinaman should commit a rob-
bery. I had simply asked how long she had had the Chinaman.

Q. — Was she engaged in instilling Christianity into the Chinese?

A. — She was engaged in that good work.

Q. — And this was a Christian Chinaman ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And you managed to convict him of the robbery, even to the
satisfaction of that indignant lady?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — They are cunning and expert thieves?

A.— Yes, sir.

130

Q. — What is the character, as to truth and veracity, of these chris-
tianized Chinamen?

A. — I wouldn't take their word for anything.

Q. — Would they perjure themselves as readily as do the unchris-
tianized?

A. — I believe so.

Q. — What effect does this Christian teaching have upon the Chi-
nese?

A. — It makes them keener and more conscienceless — worse in every
way. They learn the English language, and the smarter they get the
worse they get, and the more expert in thieving. I know Chinamen
who have been here for a long time, and I cannot see that they have
been improved by their contact with the whites. On the contrary,
they have learned all of our rascality and none of our virtues. I
don't think it is natural for a Chinaman to learn anything good. I
have known one Chinaman a good many years. He was considered
by a good many people, and is now, what they call a "way up"
Chinaman — one of the better class. His name is Ah Bean.

Q. — Is he a Christian?

A. — He pretends to be. He is rather smart — has learned tele-
graphy, etc.

Q. — He is the fellow who tries to bribe public officers, is he?

A. — -Yes, sir.

Q. — He is a way up fellow and a good Christian ?

A. — Yes, sir. At one time I thought he was a pretty good China-
men, but now I don't think there is a worse Chinaman on I Street or
on the Pacific Coast, because he has learned so much. The more
they learn the worse they become.

Q. — What has been the effect in this city of the employment of
Chinese? Has it displaced white labor to any great extent in the
lighter avocations?

A. — Yes, sir ; to a great extent.

Q. — Do you think that they drive servant girls from their places,
deprive them of an opportunity of making an honest living?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And has that fact added to the ranks of prostitution?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know of any such cases?

A. — Yes, sir. I recall two very distinctly, where white girls have
been driven to prostitution by being thus driven from their employ-
ments.

Q. — They first come into contact with these Chinamen in the honest
walks of life, and are them displaced by them. Next they meet
them in the lower walks, and still the advantage is against them.

A. — Yes, sir. That condition of affairs exists to an alarming ex-
tent.

Q.— Then, instead of the presence of Chinese tending to the advance-
ment of Christian civilization, it has a directly opposite effect?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — It is claimed by the Chinese missionaries in this State, that
from sixty to one hundred have become christianized. Taking that
to be true, how many white people have been ruined by their pres-
ence here during the last twenty-five years?

A.— The percentage against them is very great. Many more whites
have been ruined in this city alone than have been converted in the

131

whole State. I do not think that Chinese hecome converted to Chris-
tianity at all. 1 don't think it is possible.

Q. — In San Francisco at an early day, and in Sacramento, there
were few boys fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen vears of age in the coun-
try?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And the places occupied by boys in other countries were filled
by the Chinese?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — So that the result was, that when boys came along in the
natural growth of the country there was no work for them to do ?

A. — That is correct.

Q. — We have an element in San Francisco, and a small element
here, known as hoodlums. Might not the growth of that element be
justly attributed to the presence of this people in our midst?

A.— I think nine-tenths of it may. In other countries boys find
employment in this light work, but here it is done by the Chinese.
Boys of tender age have been found in Chinese houses of prostitu-
tion frequently.

Q. — Would those boys be liable to visit the houses of white prosti-
tutes?

A. — They would not be so liable.

Q— Why is that?

A.— The prices are higher, and boys of that age will not take the
liberties with white women that they do in Chinatown. In addition
to that, it can be said on behalf of the white women that they would
not allow boys of ten, eleven, or fourteen years of age to enter their
houses. No such cases have ever been reported to the police, while
the instances where Chinese women have enticed these youths are
very frequent, Some three years ago two boys, one thirteen and the
other fiiteen, were taken from a Chinese house of prostitution and
brought to the station-house. One belonged here and the other to
San Francisco. I met the San Francisco boy about a month after-
wards*and found him suffering from a loathsome disease, which he
said he contracted in that house.

Q. — Do you know what they do with their sick when they become
helpless and unable to make more money ?

A.— Put them in some out-house, or on the sidewalk, to die?

Q. — Without food or bedding?

A. — Generally. I have found men and women, both, in that con-
dition. I have found them by accident, while hunting for other
things — stolen goods, criminals, etc.

Q — You found women without food or drink, and without covering?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And death would have come from disease or starvation, or
both ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q— Is that the common way of disposing of these women when
they become useless?

A. — Yes, sir, if not the only way.

Q. — They are less cared for than are useless domestic animals by
the white race?

A. — A great deal less.

Q— What is the general effect of the presence of this race upon the
morals of this country ?

132

A.— Bad.

Q. — Is this population a criminal one ?
A. — Principally.

Q. — Do you know of any good that comes from their presence?
A. — f have never heard of any, nor can I think of any.
Q. — Leaving San Francisco out of consideration, have you ever
known so many people, in any city, crowded together in the same
space that they are crowded here ?
A.— No, sir/

Q. — -Have you ever known as vicious a population concentrated in
any other city?
A— No, sir.

Q. — Do you know of any cases of leprosy here ?
A. — 1 know of one case of leprosy here. The leper is a loathsome
looking object, and no one will dare to touch him. They will not
receive him at the hospital, and there is no place at the station-house
for him. He could go into any store in this city and take whatever
he pleased.

Q. — Would it be possible to close up houses of gambling and pros-
titution entirely in the Chinese quarters'/

A. — I think that it would be an utter impossibility. To do it would
require a police force large enough to have a man stationed on I
Street every fifty or one hundred feet. More policemen would be
required for the Chinese quarter than for all the rest of the city.
Taking into consideration the present state of taxation, the extra
expense would be more than we could stand.

Q. — The Chinese are about one-tenth the population of the city?
A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do they pay one-hundredth part of the tax?
A. — No, sir ; I don't think they pay one-thousandth part.
Q, — Do they own any real estate ?

A. — I do not know of any case. I have heard that one Chinaman
owned a piece of land, but I do not know anything about it,

Q. — Would the houses in which they live be habitable for any
other class of people ?

A. — No, sir. A few recently erected might be cleansed, but most
of them would have to be torn down and rebuilt.

Q. — Tell us how they regard our laws and ordinances relating to
health ami tire; how they live; whether they buy things here or from
Chinese merchants; whom they have displaced, and what would be
the effect of sending large numbers of them East?

A.— They totally disregard the fire and health ordinances. They
build tires in their rooms on the floor, under the sidewalks and on
the sidewalks. The danger of the destruction of the city by fire is
very great, especially when a north wind is blowing. The Chinese
live together, fifteen or twenty in a small room, and do their cooking
there and sleep there. This enables them to live upon probably ten
cents a day, or seventy cents a week, while a white laborer would be
under an expense, at the very least, of twelve dollars a week. The
Chinese use Chinese clothing, live upon Chinese rice, and deal with
Chinese merchants. The Chinese Avasherman has taken the place of
the white washerwoman. He has usurped the place of the white
girl in families. He has driven white laborers from the factories, the
fields, and the ordinary work of laborers. He has invaded a large
portion of our manufacturing institutions, displacing white labor,

133

male and female. He has been enabled to do this from the fact that
he works for less than is necessary to support the most economical of
white laborers. It has been stated in Eastern papers that the Chinese
on this coast are abused, and that they are not protected by the laws.
That is not so. It is because the laws have been well enforced in
California that the people have stood this thing so long as they have.
If we should send a population of this kind to any large city in the
United States, and the workingmen should understand the character
of the Chinese as we understand it, they would rise up and prevent
their settling among them.

George Hing sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California ?

—Twenty-three years. I went home about two years and a half,

came back about nine years ago.

— What do you do now?

— I keep store, and work for the railroad company.

— How many Christian Chinamen are there in California?
I don't know. There are probably somewhere near one hun-

and

Q
A

dred.

Q
A

— Arc they Christians, or do they pretend to be Christians?

Some keep it a long time.
— From what part of China did you come?

About two days from Canton.
— Do vou know how these Chinawomen get here?
No.

Do vou know whether thev are bought and sold here?
No.

How many Chinamen are there in California?
I think about one hundred and thirty thousand or one hun-
dred and forty thousand. That is too much. ( 'hina merchants don't
like too much to come.

Q. — Does the Chinese Government like to have these people come
here?
A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do the six companies know who own these Chinawomen here?
A. — No, sir.

Q. — Do you know anybody that owns one?
A. — No, sir. I am traveling on the road most of the time.
<,). — How long have you been working for the railroad company ?
A. — About eight years.

Q. — If the six companies were to tell the Chinamen who own
women that they must send them away, would they do it ?

A. — I think not. We have no right to say anything of that kind.
I attend to my business, and don't interfere with anybody else.

An You sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in California?

A. — Sixteen years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — Canton.

Q. — How long have you lived in Sacramento?

A. — Thirteen year-.

Q. — What have you been doing in Sacramento?

A. — Keeping a butcher shop.

134

Q. — Do you know whether Chinawomen are bought and sold here

A.— No.

Q. — What do these Chinamen do here?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do many Chinamen bring their wives here from China?

A.— Yes.

Q. — How many in California?

A.— I can't tell.

Q. — How many in Sacramento ?

A. — I can't tell how many — about two, three, or four here, I guess.

Q. — How do they get these other women? Do they buy them or
steal them ?

A. — I cannot tell.

Q— When those women get sick and are going to die, do they put
them in houses by themselves, without food or water?

A. — In case a woman got no husband, and don't know enough to
go to the hospital, they put her out that way.

Q. — Why don't the Chinese companies take care of them when
they are sick ?

A. — The company can't attend to much business of that kind.

Q, — How many gambling-houses were there in Sacramento before
this excitement?

A. — I don't know. I am a business man and don't know anything
about that.

Q.— Did you ever gamble yourself?

A. — Since I came back from China I never gambled.

Q. — Where do you live?

A. — On I Street, between Second and Third.

Q. — Are there any women that live close to your store?

A. — Yes; some family women.

Q. — Do any other kind of women live there?

A.— I can't tell.

Q. — Are there any bad women around there?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do you know the meaning of the word "coolie" in China?

A.— No.

Q. — Do yon know any Chinese Christians?

A. — Some believe and some do not.

Q. — How many believe?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — Do you know any?

A. — I don't know any at all.

Q. — Do you know Ah Bean ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is he a ( Christian ?

A. — He did not used to believe, but he does now.

Billy Holung sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and forty-eight.

Q. — What have you been doing?

A. — The first time, mining.

Q. — How long have you lived in Sacramento?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and sixty-two.

Q. — What have you been doing in Sacramento?

135

A. — Worked in a saloon first time for an American man on Front
Street — Pony Exchange.

Q. — How do these Chinawomen come here— the women that are
prostitute.-?

A. — I don't know.

Q.— AY ho own them?

A. — I don't know.

Q. — I 'id you ever see rewards offered for killing men ?

A. — Never heard of that.

Q— Do you know anything about Ah Quong being killed?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q.— What was he killed for?

A. — I don't know.

Q.— Who killed him?

A. — I don't know.

Mr. Lewis — Did you .ever buy a woman yourself?

A. — No. I don't do that kind of business.

Q. — Six years ago, when you were in the Pony Exchange, did you
not buy a woman and give six hundred dollars for her?

A. — Yes, sir; I bought me a wife.

Q, — What became of her?

A. — I own her.

Q. — What is she doing?

A . — Dressmaking.

Q. — Where, in San Francisco, is she living?

A. — On Jackson Street, up stairs.

Q. — How many other women are with her?

A. — She is alone.

Mr. Donovan — What do you do for a living?

A. — Keep a store.

Q. — How often do you see your wife?

A. — Sometimes.

Q. — Does she pay you what money she makes?

A. — Yes, sir. The money she gets for dressmaking. I pay for her
support.

Q. — Are you married to her?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Why don't you keep her in Sacramento?

A. — She quarrels with me.

Q. — Did you ever whip her ?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — How much money does she give you?

A. — I pay sixty dollars every month.

Lem Schaum sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — About fourteen years, sir.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — One hundred and fifty miles from Canton.

Q. — Where were you educated in English?

A. — Down at Oakland.

Q. — Bv whom ?

A— By Mr. Rowle, the Rev. Dr. Moore, and Dr. Gamble.

Q. — How old were you then?

A. — I came here when T was about fifteen.

136

Q, — Did you have any relatives in California ?

A. — Yes, sir ; my father was here.

Q. — How long have you been in Sacramento ?

A. — Pretty nearly four months.

Q. — Where did you live before that?

A. — I lived at the bay.

Q. — Where did you live in San Francisco ?

A. — -Mostly with my father. When I wanted to study I went to
Oakland.

Q. — -Are you a Christian Chinaman?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — How long since you first believed in the Christian religion ?

A. — Since about eighteen hundred and seventy.

Q. — Have you tried to make Christians out of your countrymen
here ?

A. — I tried that ; but it is very hard work to do it.

Q. — Do some of them pretend to be Christians when they are not?

A. — Only those grown-up fellows ; the young boys do not. Boys
working around see the American customs, and we can instruct them
in no time ; but the old ones think Confucius' is the only good relig-
ion, and with them it is very hard work.

Q. — Are there a good many Buddhists among them?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — None of them ever become Christians, do they?

A. — They will not. They don't know anything about Christianity,
and you can't make them understand it. They never will take your
word for it.

Q. — You don't know of any Chinamen who believe in the doc-
trines of Buddha that have been converted to the Christian religion?

A. — Yes; one or two, down at the bay.

Q. — How many Christian Chinamen do you think there are in
California altogether ?

A. — About four years ago we formed a Chinese Young Men's
Christian Association at the Rev. Dr. Loomis' place. There were
twenty-eight of us when we formed that society, but the number has
grown up to about five hundred.

Q. — Do you think that many are Christians?

A. — I think about half are real Christians.

Q. — Do you know how these bad women are brought here ?

A. — They are stolen and bought in China, and brought here the
same as we buy and sell stock.

0- — Their condition is a very horrible one, then?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know how they are treated?

A. — Yes, sir. The parties who own them generally treat them
pretty roughly. If they don't go ahead and make money the owners
will give them a good thrashing.

Q r . — Suppose you were to convert one of these women, would she
have any chance to get away from them ?

A. — Yes, sir; they do down at the bay. The Rev. Dr. Gibson has
a Chinese woman's home ; so has the Rev. Dr. Loomis. When a Chi-
nese woman gets away and goes to either of these places she is taken
care of and protected until she can do something for her living, or
find a respectable Chinaman to marry with.

137

Q. — Don't they try to steal those women back?

A. — They can't do it. They would if they could, but they can't do it.

Q. — How many are there, do you know ?

A. — I made inquiry about them about four months ago ; twenty or
thirty were at Gibson's, and fifteen or twenty at Loom is".

Q. — They protect them there?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Is it not very common, when those women try to get away, for
the people who own them to have them arrested for larceny, and
things of that kind ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — They are held by fear of punishment if they try to escape?

A. — Exactly.

Q. — There are cases where Chinamen have cut them all to pieces
with knives for running away, arc there not?

A. — 1 never have seen any, but this is what I have heard.

Q. — They torture them ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do they buy and sell these women here?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — And hold them in slavery ?

A. — Exactly.

Q. — Do you know anything about turning these women out to die
when they become sick from disease, and unable to make money ?

A. — I have not heard of anything of that kind ; but when they are
sick, and expect they are going to die, they are taken care of.

Q. — The police officers here h/ive testified that they have found
these sick people where they have been left in outbuildings, without
food or water ?

A. — -I presume they do that. I have not seen any case of that kind,
and I am not positive.

Q. — You have not associated with these people?

A— I have not associated with them at all. I am sick of them ; I
got enough of them.

Q. — You have seen the Chinese quarters? Do you think that it is
good for the Chinese, or for the Americans, to have those people liv-
ing as they do ?

A. — I think it is very bad for both Chinese and Americans.

Q. — As a general rule, taking the one hundred and fifty thousand
of them in California, they don't learn much good after they come
here, do they? Don't they learn the vices of the country ?

A. — That is your own fault. No Chinaman can take a walk up
and down the street unless you find an Irishman or a Dutchman
strike them down. They struck one down and I told them I would
have them arrested and put in the County Jail for six months. A
great many Chinamen desire to learn to read and write English, and
then also our methods of business, or any kind of work : perhaps
the arts or sciences.

Q. — They live very cheaply, don't they ?

A. — They must live cheaply, sir. They have got to live cheaply,
because they only get about fifteen dollars a month, or three or four
dollars a week.

Q. — A great many live in the same house?

A. — Yes ; a great many live together, because they have not got
money enough to have rooms as you have.

188

Q. — Do you known the house Dr. Gibson rents to them in San
Francisco?

A. — He didn't rent that at all. They come in there free.

Q. — The house on Jackson Street, near the theater?

A. — That is our mission.

Q. — He rents it to Chinamen, don't he?

A. — No, sir. He has got nothing to do with it; he has no money
to invest in that business.

Q— Who does rent it?

A. — I think some American rents to Chinamen, and the Chinamen
rents to the Chinese, but don't know.

Q. — Suppose it was proven to you that Gibson rented that building
to Chinamen, what would you think of Dr. Gibson?

A. — I would think that he would be a very bad man.

Q. — It has been in testimony that he does rent that building to
Chinese, and that he makes a profit out of it, What do you think of
that?

A. — I think he would be a very bad man if he does that.

Q.. — That is a very bad place, is it not?

A. — It is a very dirty place — enough, almost, to kill a man. It is
so strong there that I can't go around Jackson Street now.

Q. — It is in a very filth v condition?

A.— Exactly.

Q. — What did you do before you went into the mission?

A. — I was in the mines. My father owned some mines; but my
profession was geologist and mineralogist.

Q. — Did you ever study that profession much ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Where did you study it?

A. — At home in China. I guess I know as much as any of them
at home — more, too.

Q, — Do you know whether the Chinese Government is in favor of
its people coming here or not?

A. — It is not in favor of it, but the government can't help itself.
The policy of the Chinese Government has been exclusive. It desires
to keep its people at home. This immigration is mostly from the
Province of Canton.

Q. — Suppose the mass of that immigration was stopped, do you think
it would have any influence on our commercial relations with other-
part s of China ?

A. — No. I think this immigration must stop. I say it is not only
ruining Americans, but it ruins the Chinese. Their wages, we notice,
come down every day. A short time ago Chinamen got thirty-six
dollars a month working on the railroad. What do they get now?
Twenty-six dollars per month — one dollar a day. This immigration
must be stopped in some way.

Q. — Do you think, if proper representations were made to the ( Chi-
nese Government by intelligent Chinamen, as to the state of affairs
here, they would willingly aid in stopping it — stopping this immigra-
tion of the lower classes here?

A. — The government, I am afraid, would not be able to do it, It
has eighteen provinces, and a revolution in every province almost.

Q. — It is claimed that if we were to attempt to stop it- ourselves the
Chinese Government would be offended?

A. — No, they would not be offended; hut they would be very glad

139

to do that, the same as I am. The Chinese Government would be
only too glad to prevent their people coming to this country.

Q. — What is the general opinion of ( 'hristian ( Ihinamen with whom
yon associate in this State as to the policy or impolicy of having this
Chinese immigration continue without any limits?

A. — We think that this immigration must be stopped. It must be
stopped in some way, and then we can look after those Christians
educated in this country. We want to stretch forth our hand as far
as we can so as instruct them about a better world than this. That
is our object, and a good many of them are going back to preach at
home. Looking at this thing from a Christian standpoint. I think
that Christianity is not advanced by this immigration, and i would
give anything in the world to have it stopped.

Q. — In the Eastern States, when we proposed to check this immi-
gration, or to limit it to the better class of Chinese, we were met with
this proposition : that Chinese immigration to this country would
have the result of christianizing China. I understand you to say
that the immigration, such as is coming here now, don't tend to the
advancement of Christianity?

A. — It does not.

Q. — So it would be better, then, from your standpoint as a China-
man, to stop it, for by stopping it you would make more Christians?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know anything about the organization of the six com-
panies, and what their purposes are?

A. — Yes, sir. The six companies see so many of our nation com-
ing to this country poor that they try to provide for them; but
lately they telegraphed to the Chinese Hospital at Hong-kong not to
let any more come here. We don't know how we stand here now.
It is not friendly. There is going to be a row. Those who arrived at
San Francisco lately had not, of course, heard anything of this, but
I think it will check immigration. I have heard Chinese merchants
talk about this matter, and they say this immigration must be
stopped if they want to live. They don't know how in the world
they can stand it.

Q. — What is the opinion of the Chinese merchants in Hong-kong
and Shanghai, and other Chinese ports? Are they in favor of stop-
ping it?

A. — Those fellows at home have nothing to do with emigration
from Hong-kong to this country.

Q. — There is no fear that if we were to stop immigration it would
interfere with our trade with the Chinese people?

A. — None whatever. The Chinese merchants want it stopped, and
the whole thing can be done in a friendly way.

Q. — Do you know anything about notices of rewards being posted
up in Chinese quarters in San Francisco or here, for the punishment
of certain men — a notice of this kind : Five hundred dollars or six^
hundred dollars will be given for the assassination or murder of
some ( Ihinaman?

A. — I do. That is a Chinese custom. When members of a com-
pany do anything against the rules of that company they are pun-
ished. Suppose one member of a company comes to me and says:
"Go and steal a woman from a Chinaman," and I do so for him.
Because I favor him, his enemies prove I stole the woman, and put

140

up a reward of five hundred or one thousand dollars to have me
killed. That is the way they do.

Q. — Do they post those'rewards up publicly?

A. — I think not ; I think they do that in secret.

Q. — Has it been your experience that those secret judgments are
carried into execution ?

A. — They pop it to you every time.

Q. — Almost every time a judgment is entered that a man shall die,
and they offer so much money to have him killed, the man is killed?

A. — Exactly.

Q. — They take every advantage ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q, — That is regarded as a death sentence ?

A. — Yes, sir. The man knows he has to die, but gets out of the
way if he can.

Q. — That makes it difficult for any Chinamen, if they are disposed,
to protect women ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — If a Chinaman takes a woman to the mission, that sort of a
reward will be offered ?

A. — Yes, sir; most likely.

Q. — Do you know of their custom of settling cases that get into the
Courts? For instance, a Chinaman is arrested for kidnaping one
of these women. Do you know anything about their settling that
among themselves and keeping the testimony away from the Courts?

A. — I believe they do that,

Q. — They have some sort of a tribunal in which they settle this
thing for themselves?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Have they a tribunal which punishes for offenses against their
customs?

A. — Yes, sir. For instance, suppose I should march myself out
and kill a Chinaman. I am brought before the company and made
to pay a tine. They take the money and send it back to the family
of the killed party to support his mother.

Q. — If you kill a member of the See-yup Company, the See-yup
Company will determine, through this tribunal, that you shall pay
so much money ?

A. — Yes, sir.

(,>. — Suppose you pay that money?

A.— Then I will be all right.

Q. — They would not try to punish you by law?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Suppose you refuse to pay the money'/

A. — I must go through the American Courts.

Q. — And they will convict you ?

A. — Exactly.

Q. — If you do pay the money they will protect you against the
American laws'/

A. — They let the whole matter drop.

Q. — And keep witnesses out of the way ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — It is impossible, then, to administer justice, under our law-. !•>
this Chinese population?

A. — Exactly ; it is impossible.

141

Q. — Do you know anything about Cinnamon coming here under
contract to work so long after they get here?

A. — Yes, sir; when men have no money to get to California they
borrow it and make a contract to work until they have refunded that
money. There are very few cases where the lenders have lost any-
thing, for the working classes of the Chinese, as a rule, keep all such
contracts faithfully. When Chinamen desire to go back to China
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company will not sell them tickets unless
they have a check or ticket from the. six companies, or from the mis-
sionaries. This is done to protect the creditors of the Chinamen
living in this country.

Q. — Do you know to what extent Christianity is being spread in
China ?

A. — Very strong now.

(,). — You are glad to see that, of course?

A. — Oh, yes! glad to hear of it.

Q. — Do you know what denominations are making the most con-
verts ?

A. — The Presbyterians in Canton ; but I thing Methodists in
Shanghai and Wong-bow. The Catholics are getting along more
slowly.

Q. — To what denomination do you belong?

A. — To the First Congregational Church.

Q. — Do you know how many Christian Chinamen there are in this
city?

A. — I guess about twenty-four.

Q. — -And how many in San Francisco?

A. — Three hundred and sixty or three hundred and seventy.
There are a little over one hundred running around the country. I
think the genuine Christians in California will number about two
hundred.

Q. — Do you preach to them ?

A. — Yes ; but I do not preach for a salary.

Q. — Have you any other business?

A. — My business is geologist.

Q. — What do you do for a living here?

A. — I have an uncle who keeps a store, and he is going home. He
wanted me to collect his debts, and wrote to me to come up and stay
with him for a while.

Q. — Is he a Christian ?

A. — No, sir.

Q. — Hoav do the Chinese generally regard Christian Chinamen?

A. — With a great deal of prejudice. This is because they know we
are better than they are.

Q. — If the Chinese merchants here were to unite together, could
they not giVe criminals up to justice if they desired?

A. — I do not know.

Q,. — Can the six companies send lewd and improper characters back
to China or stop their immigration?

A. — Yes, sir ; in a measure by advice, but they have no power to
command it to be done.

Sam Lee sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you lived in Sacramento?

A. — I came back from the mountains a few days ago ?

142

Q. — What part of the mountains'.''

A. — Bakersfield.

Q. — Have you ever seen rewards posted up — offering rewards for the
murder of Chinamen?

A. — Yes ; in San Francisco.

Q. — What do those papers say ?

A. — Just put up to say they pay one thousand dollars or five -hun-
dred dollars to kill.

Q. — Any names signed?

A— Noj sir.

Q. — How do you know who will pay?

A. — They go and find out before they do it.

Q, — Do you know any Christian Chinamen?

A. — No, sir. T went to school once to learn something. I wanted
to learn to speak English, and the American law.

Q. — What you understand by religion, then, is learning English?

A. — Learning American man's law and what the American man
knows.

TWELFTH DAY.

Sacramento, May 4th, 1S76.

0. C. Jackson sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you been in California?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and sixty-three.

Q.— How long have you resided in Sacramento?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and sixty-three.

Q. — What is your present occupation ?

A. — Regular police officer in the City of Sacramento.

Q. — How long have you been connected with the force?

A. — I have been an officer since eighteen hundred and sixty-nine,
but not on the regular force all the time.

Q. — Are you familiar with the Chinese quarters of this city?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What is their condition as regards cleanliness?

A. — It would be simply ridiculous to compare it with the white
part of the city. It is filthy in the extreme.

Q. — How do they live? Do many live in the same house?

A. — They are packed in, three tiers deep. I have visited ( 'hinatown
hundreds of times in search of < 'hinese thieves, and have seen them
stowed away head and i'crt together, in cellars and under sidewalks,
and all their surroundings of the most filthy character.

Q. — Do you know how these Chinese prostitutes are held — whether
in slavery or not?

A. — T think they are all held in slavery. They are all bought and
sold the same as horses and cows, bringing prices according to age
and beauty.

Q. — Do you know how they are treated ?

A. — As slaves, and punished as the owners may choose.

Q. — What sort of punishments are inflicted?

A. — I do not know, only from hearsay.

Q. — What chance have these women to escape if they should so
desire?

143

A. — Very little chance. Where they do get away they arc generally
caught and brought hack to the owners again.

Q. — Do they resort to the processes of our Courts in order to recover
women who have escaped?

A. — Yes, sir; in a great many cases to my knowledge They will
swear out a warrant for her arrest for grand larceny or some felony.
Sometimes it is sworn out against the man who has her, and some-
times against both. As soon as they get possession of the woman,
they trifle with the cases until they fall through. It is almost impos-
sible for a woman to escape.

Q. — Do you know what is clone with these women when they
become sick, helpless, and incurably diseased?

A. — Where they see that they will be of no further use to make
money, they turn them out on the sidewalk to die. I have seen
men and women also turned out to die in this manner. I have
found dead men while searching for stolen property, and have had
the Coroner attend to them. The Chinese are very superstitious in
regard to sickness and death, and will have nothing to do with their
unfortunate fellow countrymen. A great many die in out-of-the-way
places, abandoned by the Chinese, without food or drink.

Q. — Do you know whether Chinese prostitutes have been in the
habit of soliciting young boys of tender age?

A. — I do not remember any cases of late occurrence. Since the
present Chief of Police went into office there has been little of that
business, as he has kept the places shut up. Previous to that, these
women were in the habit of soliciting openly. I have seen in these
houses boys of ten, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen years of age.

Q, — Have you ever heard of boys of that age visiting white houses
of prostitution?

A. — No, sir. I never knew of any such case.

Q. — Do 3 r ou believe the white women would allow it?

A— No, sir.

Q. — This is frequent in the Chinese quarter?

A. — It has been.

Q. — How is their testimony received in Court?

A. — I would not believe a Chinamen under oath, for they will
swear whichever way interest or prejudice directs. They are in the
habit of compromising felonies and offenses. They have their own
secret tribunals, where they try men for offenses. I was present at
one of their meetings a short time ago, and they questioned me very
closely regarding certain Chinamen whom they accused of furnish-
ing evidence. This week, in the County Court, we had a trial of a
Chinamen whom I arrested for stealing from the Congregational
Church school-room. He was caught in the room by the Chinaman
who keeps it in order, and held until I got there and took him into
custody. There were three Chinamen there when he was arrested and
searched, besides Mrs. Shane, the teacher. Two of these Chinamen
begged the white witnesses on several occasions not to go to Court
and testify, else they would be killed by order of their countrymen.
In the Police Court they were not needed and were not called. Two
or three nights before the trial came on in the County Court, this
Chinaman, Fon Fon, came to my residence very much excited, and
wanted me to go down town with him. I asked him what for, and
he said the Ky-che-lung was holding a meeting, and he wanted me to
go before it. He said they were meeting to make him pay one dollar

144

a day for every day this man had been in jail, or else hire a lawyer
to get him out, saying that if the man was convicted and he did not
pay this money, he would be killed. He also said that he had not
dared to go down I Street since the man's arrest. I went to the
meeting of the Ky-che-lung and was questioned very closely. To see
what they were up to I evaded their questions, and finally told them
this man had nothing to do with the matter. This was what they
were after, and one told me he did not believe me. On the trial the
two other Chinese had disappeared, and an attachment had to be
sent for Fon Foil. On the stand he perjured himself, declaring he
knew nothing of things that occurred there the day of arrest. " He
was very much scared and doubtless acted under orders. The Chinese
told me that the whole matter had been settled. The great number
of offenses committed by Chinese among themselves are settled long
before they come to issue in our Courts. " They use threats and intim-
idation among themselves, but never towards the whites.

Q,.— Do you know anything about the murder of Ah Quong ?

A. — Yes, sir. That was as Mr. Jones stated.

Q. — Do you know anything about the posting up of offers of rewards
for assassinations?

A.— I have had them, but of course could not read them. I have
had them translated. They offer so much for the murder of a par-
ticular individual, and agree to protect the murderer.

Q. — Do you know any Christian Chinamen ?

A. — No, sir.

Q- — Do you know whether the employment of Chinamen in this
city, in the place of white girls, has led to the prostitution of the
whites in any degree?

A.— I cannot say. My opinion is that the presence of the Chinese
tends to degrade the working classes, but I can't say that I know of
any instances where white girls have been driven to prostitution
because of the Chinese.

Q. — How much a day can Chinese laborers of the lower classes sup-
port themselves upon ?

A.— They can live on ten cents a day. White men cannot board
themselves for less than fifty cents a day. The Chinese evade all
the tax they can. A poll-tax receipt is passed around from one to
the other, and they swear themselves clear of paying whenever they
can.

Q— Do they import much of their food and clothing from China?

A.— Yes, sir. They spend very little money with Americans.
They come here, stay until they get some money together, and then
go home again. While they are here, they are sending money home
all the time.

Q— From what you have seen, do you think the presence of the
Chinese here tends to the advancement of Christian civilization ?

A.— It has the reverse effect, It is also degrading to white labor:
instead of learning good, they are learning vice. They are becoming
educated only in thievery, and perjury, and everything bad.

Q. — In the administration of justice, do the officers meet with any
assistance at the hands of the more respectable portion of the
( 'binese?

A.— They stand in the way of the administration of the law, from
the head men down to the lowest thieves. They are a nation of
thieves, the lowest being under the direction and managemenl of the

145

more intelligent, who know the laws, hire lawyers, procure testimony,
and act as receivers of goods stolon. When yon arc on 1 Street,
searching tor information, you can't find a man but what will answer
to all your questions, " No sabe." Sometimes they put up jobs on
their fellow countrymen, ami convict them of crime, whether guilty
or not. They have no respect for our laws, and consider them only
of use in so far as they can use them to work their own personal ends.
They settle everything in their own councils^ and as the thing goes
there, so it goes elsewhere.

Q. — What is the great difficulty in the administration of the law?

A. — Our ignorance of their language ; and unless white witnesses
are very familiar with Chinese faces, they have Lireat trouble in iden-
tifying them. Officers have no difficulty on that score, but others do.

Charles P. O'Neil reealled.

Mr. Haymond — Do you know anything about the murder of the
first interpreter".''

A. — Yes. sir. lie belonged to the Ning-yeung Company, which
broke off from the See-yup Company. He was considered as a
pretty bad sort of man, for he was going after some Chinamen pretty
lively. He was in the habit of assisting to make convictions, trump-
ing up false charges, etc.

Q. — How do you know they were false ?

A. — They were proved so to be afterwards.

Q. — How was he removed ?

A. — They sent to China for a man to come here and kill him. Let-
ter- were sent to this Chinaman at Folsom, where he was living, and
also telegraphic dispatches, warning him that he was to be mur-
dered. He immediately came to Sacramento City and went into a
uambling-house. He was sitting down, leaning over the table, and
this man that was to kill him was standing opposite. This fellow
walk behind the interpreter and shot him. As he fell, he shot him
a second time, and then rushed to the street. This was about six
o'clock in the evening. He walked about forty steps up the street.
He then crossed the street and walked about one hundred and fifty
feet further. Then he threw his pistol in a doorway, went probably
seventy-live feet further, and jumped down into a yard and disap-
peared. He went to China and w r as there pretty nearly a year, when
he came back and died in San Francisco, just about the time we dis-
covered his whereabouts. Before he did this killing lie had none to
( Ihina. lie was then sent for by the companies and came back. He
was in the State only three or four days when he killed his man.

Mr. Donovan — What reason had they for wanting this man mur-
dered?

A. — There was a white man murdered in Amador County by some
Chinese in bis employ. He was a Mr. Griswold, a wealthy ditch
owner. The Chinese tied to Marysville. Ah (low. the interpreter,
was living there then, and he went to white men and said " The mur-
derers of Mr. Griswold are in a wash-house across the street. Arrest
them, and we will make the reward." The men were arrested, taken
to Amador ( ounty and hung. That is why Ah < row was killed.

(,). — Do you know what company brought this man out?

A. — No, sir; 1 only learned that from the Chinese a year after the
murderer left. The head of one of the companies in San Francisco
10

146

was arrested for conspiracy, and brought to Sacramento. On the pre-
liminary examination he was discharged. He was a very old man,
and was the one who presided at the meeting at which the reward
was offered for the murder.

(,). — Was he a Xing-yeung man?

A. — No. All Gow was a Ning-yeung man.

Q. — When was this ?

A. — Twelve years or more ago. Professional fighters are in the
constant employ of the companies. These fighters committed several
murders here some time ago, but we could not catch them. Several
were arrested, but nothing could be proven. The Chinese told me
that they had settled the thing in their own tribunals, and that
ended it.

Committee adjourned to meet in San Francisco, .Monday, May
twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, at eleven o'clock

A. M.

THIRTEENTH DAY.

Sax Francisco, May 26th, 1876:

F. L. Gordon sworn.

Mr. Donovan — Do you know of any persons being killed among
the Chinese by hired assassin:-'.'

A. — I know of three.

(,). — What is your business?

A. — For some years I have been publishing a Chinese newspaper
in this city. I am not doing that just now.

Q. — How long were you engaged in that business?

A. — Three years this month.

Q. — Do you ever transact any other business for these people?

A. — Yes, sir; I have done mercantile business with them, print-
ing, collections, etc, I have collected poll-tax, and done general
business with them. I have been frequently called from the city on
business for Chinese. The last time was at Vallejo, in regard to a
shooting scrape at the quicksilver mines three or four miles from
that place. The Chinese sent for me to go there and look after
things. When I got there I found that the trouble had resulted from
an attempt made to shoot Ah John. Two men were arrested, and
they sent to San Francisco and hired eleven others to go up and
swear that they did not attempt to shoot anybody. Ah John then
sent down and got fourteen or fifteen to swear that they saw the
shooting. Two men were brought there to swear, whom I knew were
in San Francisco when the difficulty occurred.

Q. — Do you know of any cases where they have hired men to kill

ntliers?

A.— Yes, sir. The first case I know of is that of Ah Suey, a mem-
ber of the Wong-tung-sing Society. He did something contrary to
their rules in regard to the collection of money. I was in Ah Suey's
house the very day be was killed. He knew there was a reward
offered for his death, and he had not gone out for some days. He
told me he was going t<» collect some money, and would go to ( Ihina
in a sailing vessel. I told him I heard there was a reward offered

147

for his death, and he had better look out. During the day he went
into Washington Alley thirty or forty feet, when he was shot in the
hack, and instantly killed.

Q— Who ottered the reward?

A. — I heard that the society offered it. 1 think the amount was
eighl hundred dollars.

(,>. — Have you seen rewards of that kind posted up?

A. — Yes, sir; they are written on red paper.

Q. — Mention some other cases.

A. — A Chinaman on Jackson Street was sent for by Chinamen, to
whom he had loaned money, and was told that if he would go to a
certain room on Jackson Street they would pay him. Two men
waited for him there, and they killed him.

<,). — Was there any evidence of a reward having been offered for
his death ?

A. — I heard it spoken of in this way, before it happened: that
there would be money paid tor his death. I was in a house two days
before the killing, and there heard the matter spoken of. I am per-
fectly satisfied that bis death was the result of a reward.

Q. — Do you know of any other case?

A. — There was a priest in Spofford Alley, who was told that if he
gave any testimony against other Chinamen, he would be killed. He
was badly cut soon after, but I think he recovered. Mr. Locke and
myself waited two or three hours for the man to come to do the cut-
ting, in order to arrest him. We knew the fellow who had threatened
to do it. After we left, the attack was made.

Q. — What was the date of these two murders?

A. — I think -one was a year ago in February, and the other was a
month or two later. 1 know of a case where a woman was cut be-
cause she would not consent to be blackmailed. A Chinaman. Ah
Chuck, went into a house of prostitution and Chin ( look, a prostitute,
borrowed his pocket-knife, and, after using it, laid it on the table. In
a few minutes he said he was going, and wanted his knife. It had
disappeared from the table, and he said she would have to return the
knife or pay him for it. He said it cost him one dollar and twenty-
five cents, and he would come the next night for the money. Mr.
Locke was sent for. and he told her to pay no attention to it ; that
the Chinaman was trying to blackmail her. She gave Locke two
dollars and fifty cents, and told him to buy as good a knife as he
could for the money. lie did so, and she offered the man the knife.
He refused to take it, saying his knife was a broken one and he didn'1
want a new one. She pawned some of her clothing for twelve dollar-.
but he would not take that. lie then said his knife was worth eighty
dollars, and told her be would slash her if she did not pay it. He
afterwards cut her with a knife. She screamed and tried to get under
the bed, when he cut her again. Mr. Locke and myself found him
on Clay Street and arrested him. The next day he was bailed out,
when he went up there and cut her again with a hatchet. Another
woman. Chin Woey, was cut in the head ami arm and face for refus-
ing to pay thirty dollars blackmail to two Chinamen, one of whom
kept a gambling-house and the other a wash-house. Locke and my-
self arrested the gambler, and he was bailed out. The next day he
and two others laid in wait for me with iron bars. My revolver,
however, frightened them, and they retreated.

Q. — Was there a reward offered for your death?

148

A. — Yes, sir. There was a reward of six hundred dollars offered
for me, and one of two hundred and fifty dollars offered for a China-
man in my employ. In March, of this year, I was told not to go to
a certain house on Clay Street, or I would be killed. One day I went
there, and was asked into a room where several Chinamen were — two
with iron bars, one of whom had threatened to kill me. The door
was locked after me, and these men advanced. I sprang to the door,
drew a pistol, and kept off the Chinamen while I unlocked the door
from behind and ran into the street and escaped. Saw a notice offer-
ing a reward for my death posted up in Chinatown. Cut it down,
and have the translation. It says that any man who wants to get
rich suddenly can do so by killing me, for six hundred dollars will
be paid for my death. It was authorized by the " Wash-house Soci-
ety." I had threatened to sue them and recover three thousand four
hundred dollars on a contract for printing, and they thought they
could escape payment by murdering me. My < Ihinese servant knew
of this arrangement, and was my friend, so they offered two hundred
and fifty dollars for his death.

Q. — What are " hatchet men"?

A. — Fighting men ; a class of men in Chinatown that can be hired
to defend any house or store that is threatened, and will cut and kill
indiscriminately. About a year and a half ago a store at number nine
hundred and seven, or number nine hundred and nine Dupont Street,
was threatened. A riot took place, and hired "hatchet men 7 ' broke
into the store, shooting, cutting, and destroying. Some months ago
a riot occurred at number eight hundred and ten Dupont Street,
regarding the employment of ( 'hinese in shoe factories, and the reten-
tion of wages. Store-keepers hired "hatchet men," and they fought
the strikers. Nine were wounded, and fifteen or twenty arrests made.
None were convicted. Know a large number of professional fighters
here.

0. — What do you know of the character of the Chinese for honesty,
as a general rule?

A. — As far as I have seen, I think that Chinamen who act honestly
do it from policy, and not principle. A good many Chinamen with
whom I have been thrown in contact have been straightforward, but
I believe that was only policy.

Q. — Do you know of any regular system of blackmail among the
Chinese?

A. — Yes, sir; about three months ago three Chinamen went around
to do their regular collecting. They belong to a society having its
headquarter- on Ross Alley. They went around among Chinese
prostitutes, and told them that a new Chief of Police had come in,
and, unless he received a handsome present, would shut up the
houses. They collected from one and a half to five dollars from each
one, and it was divided among the members of that society.

Q. — How many Chinese prostitutes are there in tin's city?

A.— About one thousand eight hundred. They are divided into
two classes, one for white men and the other for Chinamen. With
the white-men prostitutes the Chinamen will have nothing to do,
saying that if a Chinawoman degrades herself by prostituting with
white men she is too low for a Chinaman.

Q. — Do you know anything about money being paid to protect
gambling-houses '.'

A. — Yes, sir. Some two years ago one of these Chinamen went

149

around among the gambling-houses, and told them thai by paying a
license of from eight to thirty dollars a month they could escape
arrest: but if by mistake they should be arrested their fine would be
paid from thismoney. It' theydidnot pay this license they would be
arrested, and their business broken up. Nearly all the gambling-
houses paid it. and these men went around for months collecting it.
A special officer went around to see that the collections were made

Q. — I>o you know whether Chinese prostitutes arc free or slave-?

A. — They arc owned sometimes by men and sometimes by women.
I know many cases of their being bought and sold. There are many
leading Chinamen here who have shares in Chinese house- of pros-
titution. Among them are Ah Fook, who has charge of the joss-
house at the head of St. Louis Alley: Yee Yum, on Jackson Street;
Him Lung Mok, who has a store on Dupont Street, nearly opposite
Commercial.

Q. — Do you know whether Chinamen sell their wives?

A. — Yes. sir. J had a Chinamen working for me two and a half
years ago who got sick and out of money. He put his wife into a
house of prostitution, and let her out for so much a month. After
she had been there three or four weeks he sold her to the proprietors
of the house. His name was Yung Sung.

(). — Is there any way for these women to buy themselves free?

A. — Those in houses for white men have no chance ; but those for
Chinamen receive many presents of money, etc.. which are for their
own use.

Lee Kan sworn.

Mr. Pi< rson — How long have you been in California?

A. — Since eighteen hundred and fifty-two.

Q. — What business have you been in ?

A. — Interpreter for the Bank of California for nine years.

Q. — From what part of China did you come?

A. — From Canton.

(,». — Do you know how many Chinamen there are in San Francisco?

A. — About thirty thousand.

Q. — What clas> of Chinamen do we have here, as a general thing?

A. — There are some merchants, but the most of them are laborers;
we call them farmers in China.

<l — What do you mean by a coolie in China ?

A. — Those who are sold to slavery to some parties, to work for so
many year-.

Q. — Do y<ai know anything about the six companies in San Fran-
cisco?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — Do you know the heads of those companies?

A. — Yes. sir.

Q. — Do all the Chinamen that come to San Francisco come con-
signed to those companies?

A. — They come by themselves. When they come here an inspector
for each company boards the vessel, and looks after them.

Q. — Do you know of any Chinamen that come here under contract,
to work until they earn their passage money'.' 1

A. — Not with the six companies. They may borrow from their
friends and relatives, and then, when they earn money here, pay
them back.

150

Mr. Donovan — Do you know anything about buying and selling
women for purposes of prostitution ?

A. — I know very little about that, for I am not in that line of
business.

<l. — Do you know any men engaged in that business?

A. — 1 do not know whether 1 do or not. I have merely heard it
talked about.

Q. — Do you believe it to be true that women are bought and sold
for purposes of prostitution ?

A.— Yes, sir.

Q. — Do you know any Chinese Christians?

A— Yes, sir.

Q. — Are you one?

A. — Xo. sir.

Q. — Arc these men real Christians, or are they onlv pretending to
! >e ?

A. — I cannot tell.

Q. — As a rule, are they not such persons as would become Christians,
or anything else, for a good position and a good salary?

A. — I cannot tell.

Q. — Would all of them become Christians for good salaries, and
good positions?

A. — I guess so.

Q. — Do you hear any of them say that Sunday-school is a good
place to learn English ?

A.— Yes, sir.

<l. — Did it strike you that they were more anxious to learn English
than to get religious teachings?

A. — Yes, sir.

<l — Do lie.' Chinese respect this mission here?

A.— i think so.

Q, — Have the Chinese companies tried to stop the Chinese from
coming here?

A. — Over a month ago they had a meeting of merchants and com-
pany men. and they sent a dispatch to China. A good many China-
men laid paid their passage money before they got the news. I think,
from this time, there won't be so much immigration, because the
merchants have sent another dispatch to their agents or correspond-
ents, not to send any freight on vessels carrying more than one
hundred passengers. .

<l. — About how many Christian Chinamen are there here?

A. — Xot more than two hundred.

Q. — Do those men discard the Chinese habit and costume?

A. — Xo, sir.

Q. — Do they wear their queue-?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — Are they more respected than they were before they became
Christians?

A. —No. sir.

Q. — Are they more hones! ?

A.— No, sir. They only change their religion. They are no better
than they were before, when they were heathen-.

Q.- Are the Chinamen coming here able to get employment as last
as they come?

A.— No, sir.

151

Q. — Have the wages of Chinamen been reduced very much during

the last ten years?
xV. — Yes, sir.

James R. Rogers, the officer detailed by the Chief of Police, at the
request of the committee, to collect statistics regarding Chinese in
San Francisco, pursuant to the resolution of the committee hereto-
fore adopted, submitted the following report:

Gentlemen : In compliance with the instructions received from your honorable committee, I
have endeavored, in the limited time in which [ was engaged in the matter (six days), to
obfc in and colleci for your information details relative to the different industrial pursuits which

are either monopolized by the Chinese or are fast b »ming so. From the fad thai this class of

our community have reduced the prices to what would be almost starvation to our white men
and women, thereby showing the cause, in a great measure-, of the lack of employment in our
city, and the prolific cause of our young men growing up in idleness, and our women, in very
many instances, driven to the last resort, of which our city will furnish abundant proof, these
are matters of the most serious consideration. It would require, as will he apparent to your
committee, considerably more tine to collect for your information reliable and thoroughly
accurate data regardingthe inroad- made upon the different avocations whereby our citizens are
gaining their livelihood ; but, as before stated, the extremely limited time allowed me must be
mv excuse for giving the general summary which I have the honor to offer for your considera-
tion.

CIGAR MAKING.

There are about three thousand three hundred Chinese employed in the business of cigar
making, earning from forty to ninety cents, and perhaps in some instances one dollar per day.
There are in the vicinty of two hundred and sixty places where cigars are manufactured, the
larger proportion of which are carried on by Chim se, and a very small number where Chinese
and white labor are employed conjointly. The number of cigars manufactured in the First Con-
gressional District of California during'the last twelve months, nine-tenths of which have been
made in the < ity and ( lounty of San Francisco and by I Ihinese labor, amounts to one hundred and
twenty million live hundred and ninety-eight thousand. This includes about six million
cigaritos. Deduct six million made by white labor, and the balance, one hundred and fourteen
million live hundred and ninety-eight thousand, remains. Many of the cigaritos are manufac-
tured from the 1, nit- of, cigars 'picked up from the street, in front of cellars and bar-rooms, as
can be seen gathered by chinamen every morning on our public streets. These are again man-
ufactured into materia] for smoking, and -old at the differenl Chinese depots at the rate of five
cents per package, made up in the form of cigaritos.

ol LAUNDRIES.

There are about three hundred scattered throughout the city, averaging five men each. Some of
these establishments employ double sets of hands and run day and night. It may safelj be said
there are fifteen hundred men employed, exclusively Chinese, in Chinese wash-houses in this
city, while as many more are employed at the larger establishments of the same nature which
are carried mi by white management. Not less than three thousand men an- employed in this
business alone.

PEDDLINU.

About three hundred are engaged in peddling fruit, vegetables, and fish, while many others
are engaged in going from house to house selling laces, tape, needles, pins, matches, cigars, anfl
human hair, which our ladies use to adorn their heads; in fact, almost all the material sold in

our small retail dry-: Is stores can be procured from chinamen at your door, and at prices

which those who are doing a legitimate business cannot possibly compete with.

CLOTH I M,.

There an- about thirty manufactories of men'- clothing carried on by < ihinese, the men doing

the main portion of the work, while the women do the light finishing.

SLIPPER MAM r ICTORIES.

Of these there are eleven, where large quantities of this article are made, the' main work being
done bv men at the shop, and the finishing by < Ihinese women at their home- during the day ;
in fact.' nearly all of this article is from Chinese labor.

SHOES AM' i. M I I . i: - .

A verv large number of men are employed and an immense amount of material manufactured
into merchandise of this nature, of which my limited time does not allow me to give you the
full detail-, but there i- no doubt but what eight-tenths of the ladies' and children'- gaiters and
shoes made in this city are of chines.- manufacture.

152

MAM I w TIKI; OF LADIES' AND CHILDREN'S UNDERWEAR.

Shirts, night-dresses, chemises — in fact, ••very article of such nature — are being made up in
large quantities by Chinamen and Chinese women; this to the dismay of our sewing girls, who
vainly attempt to compete with Chinese labor. In very many of our retail stores where such
merchandise as ladies' underwear is displayed for sale, the articles are the production and
handiwork of a Chinaman, to the exclusion of the white girl, who, up to the present time, has
made an honorable living by her needle.

LODGING-HOUSES.

There are about thirty known as such, where Chinese herd in large numbers, while there
are very many mure places of a similar nature. Very few of the domestics employed in fami-
lies but what sleep in the < Ihinese quarter, sleeping in rooms containing from six men to twenty
and forty, and even one hundred have been known to occupy a single apartment. Closed at all
] K lints, the atmosphere, upon entering one of these places in the morning, is hey mid descript ion.
A- a sanitary measure, this is a matter that should and has engaged the attention of the author-
ities; and the law known as the ". pure-air law " was passed by our Legislature as a purely
sanitary measure, and for the protection of our citizens and the prevention of an epidemic.
This law is being enforced by the police department.

DOMESTICS.

There are about live thousand Chinese employed as cooks, nurses, dish-washers, bed-makers,
and waiters. These are employed by families, lodging-houses, etc.

HOUSES OF ILL-F V.ME

Have been principally confined to the small streets and alleys in the Chinese quarter of this
city, and comprise in number between one hundred and fifty and two hundred. These are
occupied by a class of inmates brought to this country for the purpose of serving a term of years
as prostitutes'. During the day these women, as far as practicable, are employed at the various
branches of industry — as working on shirts, slippers, men's clothing, women's underwear, etc.
A.s this class of operatives do not receive pay for this extra work, it must naturally work a fear-
ful injury to the honest white girl who depends upon her needle for her support. I need not
describe in detail these places, or their disastrous tendencies upon our community, as the public
press, from time to time, have fully advised you in all matters connected with this branch of
our Chinese quarter.

THE m im r \<"i i RE or sin it'i's

( if every description has been largely engaged in and is I icing carried on extensively by Chinese,
giving employment to both men and this class of women.

opium smoking. "

This ha I lit had formerly been practiced by the Chinese almost exclusively, every Chinese house
being provided with the drug, together with all the implements for using the article. Regular
depots are also established, where opium is smoked at regular and stated prices, where parties
smoke until insensible, then sleep off the deadly effects. While this was practiced among the
Chinese alone, no particular attention was given the subject . hut very recently not less than
eight places have been started, furnished with opium-pipes, beds for sleeping oil' the fumes, etc.
These latter places were conducted by Chinamen, and patronized by both white men and
women, who visited these dens at all hours of the day and night, the hain't and it> deadly results
becoming so extensive as to call for action on the part of the authorities, and an ordinance was
passed which had the effect of breaking up those places, buf the practice, deeply rooted, still
continues. The department of police, in enforcing the law with regard to this matter, have
found wdiite women and Chinamen side by side under the effects of this drug — a humiliating
sight to any one who has anything left of manhood.

THE PRACTICE lit'' GAMBLING

lias been carried on very extensively in all its various branches. The many places where this
vice has been carried on are now being kept closed by order of the Chief of Police — as far as
practicable.

THE DIFFERENT ASSOCIATIONS,

Such as brokers, butchers, carpenters, employment offices, jewelers, watchmakers, pawn-shops,
tinsmiths, barbers, joss-houses, and, in fact, very many other matters connected with this class
of our community, had 1 the time 1 should he glad to give you the details: but, as before stated,
the excuse must he given for this short, report which I oiler you.

Respectfully submitted,

.IAMKS R. ROGERS.

153

FOURTEENTH DAY.

San Francisco, May 27th, 1876.

Giles H. Gray sworn.

Mr. Pierson — What official position do you hold?

A. — Surveyor of Customs for the Port of San Francisco.

Q. — H*ow long have you occupied the position?

A. — About three years.

Q. — Have you any data in your possession by which we can arrive
at the number of Chinamen who have come to this country?

A. — The Custom-house records will show that. I have here a pas-
senger list similar to that carried by every steamer in the China
trade, and cert i tied to by the United States Consul.

[Witness exhibited a passenger list similar to those carried by
every steamer coming here from China, and which must be certified
toby the United State Consul before vessels can clear. The list con-
tains the names of the passengers, the sex, occupation, nativity, vil-
lage or town, and whether they are free or hired emigrants.]

The certificate of the Consul reads as follows:

Consulate of the United States of America, at Hong-kong.

1. the undersigned, Consul of the United States for the Inland of Hong-kong and the depend-
encies thereof, do hereby certify that tin- within-named persons, being inhabitants and sub-
jects of China, to tin- number of eight hundred and seventy-six (876) an', each and all of them,
free and voluntary emigrants, going hence to San Francisco, in the United States of America,
on board tin- steamship Colorado, of New York, and that I am personally satisfied, by evidence
produced, of the truth of the tact- hereiu mentioned.

Done in conformity with the provisions of the An of Congress entitled an Act to prohibit the
coolie trade, approved February uineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two: and an Act sup-
plemental t.i the Acts in relation to immigration, approved March third, eighteen hundred and
seventy-five.

Uivcn under my hand ami tin- seal of this Consulate, this fifteenth day of April. A. D. eighteen
hundred ami seventy-six.

[consulate seal.] 1). II. BAILEY, United States Consul.

The majority of the emigrants, as shown by these lists, are laborers,
and it also shows that they are free. We do not permit a single
Chinese individual to land here until this list is filed in the ( lustom-
house. There is a law of Congress which prohibits the coolie trade.
This is section two thousand one hundred and fifty-eight of the
United States revised statutes. Section two thousand one hundred
and sixty-two provides for the certificate, and there are severe penal-
ties provided for bringing passengers to this port without that certifi-
cate. The Act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five (page
four hundred and seventy-seven of the session laws of eighteen hun-
dred and seventy-four-five) provides for the prevention of the
embarkation of lewd and immoral persons, criminals, etc. The Col-
lector of the Port is instructed to prevent their landing, if they should
gain a passage, and to return them to China in the ship which
brought them. On the twenty-second of July last, the Collector and
myself undertook to carry out this law, and we have thus far always
detained the immigrants on board Chinese passenger vessels suffi-
ciently long to give parties an opportunity to make complaint in
regard to any of them as belonging to the prohibited classes. We
detain them on board twenty-four hours, but there has yet never been
a single complaint, for there is no one herewith sufficient knowledge

154

of the facts to proceed. The law is practically worthless, so far as
this portion of it is concerned. When women come here, a letter is
sent by the American Consul at Hong-kong, inclosing photographs
of the women, and saying that he is satisfied that they do not come
within the prohibited classes. [Witness exhibits a large number of
photographs of Chinese women received in this manner.] Before
women are permitted to go on board ships, they must have photo-
graphs taken at their own expense, and must swear to a certain state
of facts. They must tell whence they came, where they ar^ going,
what their occupation is, whether married or single, why they go toa
foreign country, etc., and produce witnesses who must also swear to
a similar state of affairs. If the Consul is satisfied that they are
respectable women, tickets are sold them, and they come here. When
they present his certificate here, we cannot go behind that from mere
suspicion. Since last July, there have arrived here not more than
two hundred and fifty women, but previous to that every steamer
brought two hundred and fifty and upwards. Very few prostitutes
come now, the majority of the women immigrants being family
women. There is a difference between the two classes, which an
intelligent observer can generally perceive, and from my observation
1 think that, since last July, most of the women coming here are
respectable. I have no doubt but that the importation of women
for lewd and immoral purposes has stopped. The adoption of the
" certificate " system has had that effect. If the same rules and regu-
lations were applied to the men, I think it would practically stop
their coming also. Yon might have a law passed providing for the
payment of a heavy fee — say fifteen dollars, twenty-five dollars, or
even fifty dollars — to the Consul before embarkation, and then none
but the merchants could come to California. After the laborers
pay for their passage, they have nothing left, and can raise no more
money. Such a law would be within our power to enforce, and would
not be open to the charge of unconstitutionality. All the Chinese
immigrants who come here land at the Port of San Francisco.

On motion, a committee of one, Senator Rogers, was appointed to
make arrangements for obtaining photographs of various parts of
the Chinese quarter, for use of the Commission in the book now
Ik 'inn printed.

The Commission then adjourned to meet in Sacramento, at the
office of Hon. Creed Raymond, on Wednesday next, at twelve
o'clock M.

FIFTEENTH DAY.

Sacramento, June 3d, 1876.

J AMES GALLOWAY, being sworn, made the following statement:
My name is James Calloway; I am a lawyer by profession ; age,
fifty-eighl years; came to California in eighteen hundred and forty-
nine; have spent about twenty years in the gold mines of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains; most of the time in the County of Sierra, in and
about Downieville, Forest City, Sierra City; also, a portion in Nevada

155

County. I was for a number of years a practical miner, and for
nearly all of the time in the mines, owner and operator. I am
acquainted with the Chinese working in the mines, having em-
ployed Chinamen to work for me both in river and bank, or gravel,
ami occasionally in the tunnel diggings. 1 am also familiar with
their habits and customs, and character, as residents of the mining
regions, ami their modes of working in the mines. Their habits are
not essentially different from those I have seen in the valleys. They
generally, indeed I may say universally, live in the meanest kind of
hovels, sometimes constructed of the old lumber of an abandoned
flume, other times in a canvas tent, but in the summer or mining
season in brush tents, put up with posts and poles, and brush thrown
over them. They are dirty in their habits, filthy around their camps;
generally living on rice, but occasionally indulge in fresh pork, and
also in a nice fat dog. I have the word of Chinamen who worked for
me that they eat dog meat, Have known them to buy these animals.
Have known them to eat chickens that they knew died of disease.
They wear the Chinese dress, except some of them have our style of
soft hats and boots, but many of them still wear the broad Chinese
hat made from cane splits and manufactured in China. Nearly all
their ware is evidently Chinese manufacture and made in China.
They have their own merchants in the mining camps, from whom
they buy all their rice and tea, and salt stuffs that are brought from
China. They have their own garden plats, on which they raise
their own vegetables; and it is curious to see how soon they will
produce a crop of fresh peas, beans, and lettuce. They plant the
peas and beans in hot sand, and when the sprouts are about one
inch long they carefully take them up, wash them and thus have
not green, but fresh peas and white beans sprouted. They eat
green gourds and green pumpkins and green squashes.

Many of them in the mining camps smoke opium. Indeed, I
think, more in proportion to their number smoke opium in the
mines than in the valley towns, such as Chico, Marysville, and Sac-
ramento, where 1 have lived. They import to nearly all the mining
towns or camps lewd women, who ply their occupation in the min-
ing camps, and ask and receive the patronage of the whites as well
as of the Chinese. As a class their character in the mines is that of
thieves. They have often been caught robbing sluice-boxes, houses,
and stealing chickens, and frequently convicted, and often punished
summarily by the discoverer. Those who have worked for me I
always made a practice of watching. They have no morals that I
could ever discover, except in carrying out contracts. In Sierra County
they have often been charged with murder, but they are cunning and
hard to convict. From eighteen hundred and fifty-five to eighteen
hundred and sixty-nine, there must have been several thousand in
the Counties of Sierra and Nevada. They nearly all raise the dead
bodies of their companions and send them off, with the avowed
intention of sending them to China.

Their operations in the mines have often been very profitable.
These mines are nearly all worked by companies. Companies bring-
up scores of them and hire them out, or buy or locate claims, and set
them to work on them. The company comes down in the evening
and takes possession of the gold. These companies supply the rice
and other provisions, tools, etc., for these fellows who work in the
mines. When a person hires one or more of these Chinamen, it is

156

usual, if not universal, to settle with the head man of the company ;

and if you turn off one he will bring you another. They appear to
control all their movements, and take their earnings as though they
were their property. Companies often locate mines on their own
account, but generally get some person to locate the ground, and then
buy from them, and thus they think they get a better title. They
work much poor ground, but have also worked many hundreds of
rich claims, and have taken out a large amount of gold. For several
seasons I resided on the banks of the Yuba, and used to see their
clean-up, and know that for years several companies made as
high as from four dollars to twelve dollars per hand to the day.
They soon become good miners. They are generally sober, patient,
and slow, but constant workers. The Chinese, for several years.
worked more men along the banks and in the beds of the different
forks of the Yuba River than the whites, and made more money than
the whites. This money (so far as my opportunities enabled me to
judge, and my opportunities were of the best) nearly all left the mines
in possession or ownership of Chinamen. They have no property,
or but little in mining camps, or in the mines, that is worthy of the
Assessors' or Tax-gatherers' notice. They get the gold, and go scot
free as a general rule. Nearly all the ground they have worked
could now be profitably worked by white labor — some of it would
pay richly. They were not safe neighbors where they had large
camps, and the whites were few. They are ingenious and imitative,
and can work wet diggings as well, if not better than white men. In
our mining towns they now occupy most of the domestic positions
that women and girls did before their immigration to the mines.
Many poor persons — widows, in some cases, with children — have been
displaced by these Chinese laborers, especially is this the case in the
laundry business and cooking. I am not much prejudiced against
them, but did write some articles, in eighteen hundred and sixty-one
and eighteen hundred and sixty-two. against the policy of our Gov-
ernment allowing this pauper labor amongst us. I wrote for my own
paper, the Sit rra ( 'itizt n, taking ground that they were carrying away
our treasure, and would never become citizens — would not improve
our country by building, or in any way add to the material wealth of
the State. This is still my opinion. They do carry away our gold,
and without any power of our getting any revenue from them. From
my observation, I would say their presence in the mines is as inju-
rious to our citizens living in them as in the cities, with this addition,
that they carry away more wealth, and give less return, than in the
latter places. Their morals are as bad. Their opportunities of com-
mitting outrages upon persons, and violating rights of property, are
greater, while their punishment is less certain — being more difficult.

Andrew Aitken sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California'/
A. — Since the tenth day of August, eighteen hundred and fifty.
Q. — Have you lived in Sacramento ever since'/
A. — No, sir. I have lived in Sacramento since the fall of eighteen
hundred and fifty-three?
Q. — What is your occupation ?
A. — I am in the marble business.
Q.- — What knowledge have you as to the efforts that have been

157

made on this coast by the Christian people to convert and bring to
Christianity the Chinese people?

A. — My knowledge, as far as I have assisted and observed the labors
of others, is that it is beneficial.

Q. — What is beneficial — what has been done?

A. — Teaching them to read the English language, studying script-
are, and quite a number have been converted to Christianity. There
have been nine of them made members of the Presbyterian Church;
of thai number, one has died.

Q, — For what length of time have you observed these matters?

A. — 1 have been giving my personal attention for about three
years — two years and a half or three years. 1 have been superin-
tendent of the Chinese school in the Presbyterian Church. That
school is on the corner of Sixth and I, streets, and is under the man-
agement of the Presbyterian Session.

<,>. — How long is it since it was established?

A. — About two years and a half or three years.

0- — How many Chinamen are attending it?

A. — On an average, about sixty last year: sometimes more and
sometimes less; mostly adults.

Q. — Eight or nine Chinamen have been converted ?

A. — Nine joined our church, one died, and eight are now members.
The first-named joined three year- ago, and the balance within a year
and a half. Generally, the same persons attend school regularly.
There is a class that we call the " Bible class." composed of some six
or seven, that are always there.

Q. — During the time that you have known of these missionary
efforts have the members of the church been zealous, and has every-
thing been done that can be done to bring about a conversion of the
Chinese?

A. — Yes, sir. In the evening school they are taught to read, and
in learning they are very quick and accurate.

Q, — Do you teach them concerning any of the principles of the
government ?

A.— No.

(,). — Do they seem to know anything of them?

A. — We have never attempted to do anything in that direction : we
merely teach them to read.

Q. — Do you know of anything that could have been done by your
church or its members, within the bounds of reason, towards educat-
ing and christianizing the Chinese, that has not been clone?

A. — I think a little more might have been done had we started
year- ago: but since we started we have done everything that could
be reasonably expected. I think our school is the largesl school in
the city.

Q. — Do you know anything about the condition of the Chine-'' in
the City of San Francisco?

A. — Only by hearsay.

Q. — What effect do you think this Chinese immigration would
have upon California should it lie continued to the extent that it is
now carried — three thousand five hundred or four thousand a month?

A. — I do not think it would be beneficial, especially the importa-
tion of so many lewd women: that is the greatest fault I see in the
immigration of Chinese. I am not in favor of seeing a great influx

158

of Chinese any more than any one else, but those thai are here it is
our duty to try and elevate and educate.

Q. — If one hundred and fifty thousand of these Chinese should
settle in California it would be necessary that they should be raised
from their present condition ?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — What effect do you think their presence in this city has upon
the morals of the community — do you think that it is good or bad,
taking it as a whole?

A. — I think as a whole that it has not been good — that is, takingthe
worst class. The majority are rather inclined to corrupt the morals
of others.

Q, — Do you know in what regard they hold women '.'

A.— No. I never had any conversation with them in regard to
that.

Q. — Taking the Chinese members of the Presbyterian Church.
what has been their conduct sine* — do you see any decided change
in them ?

A.— Yes, sir.

Q. — A very material one?

A. — Yes, sir. They seem to have a great reverence for anything
that is religious. They are very attentive to lessons and learn to
have a regard for praying. They seem to have more respect for
prayer than even our own people.

Q. — How is it regarding their business relations — are they honest?

A. — I see no reason to doubt that.

Q. — Do you see any difference between them and the Chinese here?

A. — Yes, a marked difference. They do not associate with them,
but keep by themselves. Those who are Christians associate with
themselves or with white people.

Q. — Do you know what their opinion is about the effect of this
large immigration into the country?

A.— J do not.

Q. — Do you find in this city, among the intelligent people, any
desire to resort to force or violence against the Chinese here?

A. — Xo, sir.

Q. — And the general impression is the impression you have?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — You express the general feeling, when you say that they are
here and musl he protected, and that it would be a, disgrace to our
country to have any attacks made upon them ?

A. — Yes. sir. That would show them that we are no better than
they are.

Q. — Are there other mission schools in this city?

A. — The Methodist Church has one, ami the Congregational folks
have one.

Q. — Do you know how many students are attending them?

A. — Xo. sir.

Q. — Do you know how many church members there are?

A. — 1 think one or two belong to the Congregational, and one or

two to the Methodists.

Q. — How is your school and mission sustained?

A. — The night-school is sustained by the Board of Presbyterian

Missionaries. Mr. I Lis sends me money every month to pay the

rent and the teacher.

159

Q. — Can you fix about the animal expense?

A. — One hundred and thirty dollars for rent; three hundred dol-
lars for teacher; porter, three hundred dollars; total, seven hundred
and thirty dollars, besides light and fuel. About one thousand dol-
lars a year is the cost of keeping up that school.

Q. — In that, of course, you do not include the Labors of yourself?

A. — There is no one paid except the teacher. All the other labor
i- voluntarily given. The gas is furnished by the church.

(,). — Are there any Chinese women attending that school ?

A. — No. sir. There is one little half-Chinese girl that conies to our
regular Sabbath-school.

Q. — Is she living with a white family?

A. — Yes, sir ; but you could not tell but what she was pure white.

Q. — You do not find any prejudice among the members of your
church to their education and advancement, do you ?

A. — There is nothing said, but since this Chinese question came up
some have absented themselves from school. Young men come in,
and listen to the singing, and I sometimes ask them if they will teach,
but they refuse, saying they don't like Chinamen, or make some such
remark as that.

Q. — Do you know anything about the missionary labors in China?

A. — Only what I have read. I will say this, however, when the
Chinese boys were admitted to the church, through the session, they
underwent as clear an examination as any of our white people; in
fact, they were more prompt with their answers in regard to the
scriptures and the plan of salvation by a Redeemer.

Q.— Do they adopt the style of dress of white people?

A. — -No. I do not think that has anything to do with it. Every
nation has its customs in regard to dress, etc.

<,). — What is the employment of these persons that belong to your
church ?

A. — Some are engaged in washing, and some are servants.

Q. — Do you know how they are received by the Chinese who are
not Christians ?

A. — They are persecuted a good deal. I will state that a boy living
with Judge ( Jurtis, and who died a year ago, was as good a < hristian
as ever lived in the world. He was the first ( Jhinese member of (•in-
ch urch.

Q. — Do you meet with opposition from the mass of the Chinese?

A. — Yes. sir. During last year, last winter, they tried to kick up a
fuss at the night-school, on Fourth Street, and I had to get a force of
policemen to protect the school. They came there, and made noises,
and tried to prevent boys from coming in. Since I got the police.
there has been no disturbance.

Q. — These converts are not very well treated by the Chinese'.''

A. — Xo. They are persecuted.

<,>. — Your converts do not associate with the mas- of the China-
men'/

A. — They do not make them their associates as they did formerly.
They have to associate with them more or less, the same as we
( 'hristians associate with our kind.

Q. — From the manner in which they are received they would not
naturally associate with them?

A.— No.

Q. — Do they express any intention of returning to China?

160

A. — Some of them do. We had a colporteur here who returned to
China with the determination to preach in his own country. Since
he went away there is another young man who is filling his place
and preaching in the Chinese language aboui five minutes every
Sunday night to those who cannot speak English. Quon Loy was the
teacher, and he had great influence among the Chinese. He was
among them continually, was an industrious man and a good
( Jhristian.

Q. — Is not one of the difficulties in the way of the conversion of
Chinese their migratory habits — that is. moving about from place to
1>1 ace?

A. — That would prevent more from uniting. Cue intended to join
our church last spring, but he wished to go to San Francisco and
unite with some of his acquaintances. I think it is a greater task for
( 'hinanien to become Christians than it is for our own people, because
they undergo more persecution and opposition amongst their own
people; so it is a sacrifice they have to make. I have found these
Chinese converts are very attentive to their duties, are present at
communion service, and have as much regard for the solemnity of
the occasion as any of us.

Q. — Have they any idea of the principles under which this country
is governed?

A..— I do not know.

Q. — Don't you think it would be a good thing to educate them in
that, in your mission schools'.'

A. — Yes. it would be. They seem to be very much taken up with
reading, and, when they once learn, they read the papers. This
Quon Loy writes as pretty a hand as you or I, and writes as pretty a
letter as you would want to read. This boy, that lived with Judge
Curtis, wrote a beautiful hand.

Q. — Senator Sargent lias introduced a bill into the United States
Senate, providing that hereafter not more than ten Chinamen shall be
brought to this State on any one ship. What is your idea as to the
passage of such a bill ?

A. — I think it would be beneficial to restrict the immigration in
that way. 1 believe in that fully.

Q. — What is the opinion of yourself and other members of your
church as to whether the problem of converting the Chinese to Christi-
anity is to be worked out here, or whether it could be better worked
out by the converts you make here returning to their own country"/

A. — 1 think that if we could convert all those that are here, or even
a portion of them, the balance would soon follow. A great many of
those who art' converted here will return to China, and preach the
gospel to their own people. The missionaries we send to China will
not have as much effect as the Chinese converts we send there. I do
not believe any of us will see the fruits of the seed we are now sow-
ing. It takes years for anything of that kind to show itself. A ureat
obstacle in the way of their conversion is the fact that a great many
churches take no steps towards educating them at all. 1 know this,
that new ones coming to school don't know the first letter, and in
three or four nights they know the alphabet. Their memory is
remarkably clear, and their imitative powers are strong. Sometimes
they stand up to repeat the ten commandments without missing a
single word. They can repeat the Lord's prayer and the creed. We
have the creed once every three or four nights.

161

Rev. II. H. Rice sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California ?

A. — Since February third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five.

Q. — What is your profession?

A. — A minister of the gospel. I am pastor of the Westminster
Presbyterian Church, in this city.

Q. — State generally what efforts have been made by your church
towards the conversion of the Chinese in our midst?

A. — There are two classes of efforts being made in relation to Chi-
nese advancement, one secular and the other religious, although they
are blended to some extent. We have a night-school on Fourth
Street, taught by a member of our church, where the Chinese are
taught to read, and are given the elements of an ordinary school
education. We do not teach them anything about the principles of
our government. I believe that ought to be taught by the govern-
ment. The government ought to sustain Chinese schools, and, as far
as possible, modify the ignorance of the Chinese race. The persons
attending our school are mostly adults. We think it is our duty,
because, the Board of Education has not thus far opened the public
schools to the Chinese, to educate them, for we are convinced that
Chinese immigration, if left to itself, will simply be a flood of heath-
enism poured on American soil. It is therefore the duty of the
government to rise up and control it, and teach the Chinese Amer-
ican customs, and give them an education, in order to civilize them.
Our mission night-school simply aims to give them a purely secular
English education. They must be educated or excluded, and I do
not believe it is possible to exclude them. The result of the meeting
of the Chinese and the American civilizations is that the Chinese
will come to this country, no matter what measures are taken to pre-
vent it. Their education is, therefore, a public necessity, and a move
in the nature of self-protection. The burden of educating them
ought not, however, to be thrown upon the State of California, but
should be sustained by the Federal Government.

Q. — It is exclusion on the one hand, or education on the other?

A. — I will say that it is exclusion or education, and you cannot
exclude them.

Q. — You assume that it is a public necessity that they be educated?

A. — It seems so to me.

Q. — Do the Chinese come to this country to live ?

A.— Xo.

Q. — They are here for some temporary purpose?

A. — Yes, sir.

Q. — They do not come as other immigrants do?

A. — Not as a rule, although there are some who come to live. My
observation is very recent, and I can say very little regarding the
civilizing effect of the contact with American manners and customs.
I think, however, that such contact is good for them, and the best
contact is generally found in these mission schools. Outside, they
are not treated always as well as they should be, but the American
people have the power to control and educate, if they will exert their
strength.

Q. — The church recognizes the universal brotherhood of man ?

A. — Yes, sir.

162

(l — No State could recognize it, and exist; no, family could recog-
nize it, and Jive ?

A. — It seems to me that the United States does recognize the prin-
ciple of the brotherhood of the whole human race.

Q. — The State don't do that. Suppose you were to recognize in
your family the universal brotherhood of man?

A. — AVe recognize that, in the family; it is not necessary for the
whole world to be invited to the supper table. Some of us have
pretty large families, and cannot all sit down at the same table. In
regard to this matter of education. 1 will say, absolutely, that the
State has a duty to educate the Chinese children as much as any
other children. In regard to the religious education, I can corrobo-
rate the statements made by Mr. Aitken. The members of our
church have told me they have, at times, received persecution from
their countrymen. A Chinaman sacrifices much to become a Chris-
tian. Even in a worldly point of view they lose much, for they lose
friendship to a great extent. I believe in the sincerity of our Chinese
converts, and should they do anything wrung, they would be dis-
ciplined just the same as any of our white members. There seems
to be a general misunderstanding as to what is a Christian Chinaman.
Only those are considered so who have been baptized, and are mem-
bers. A great many attend the school, but they are not Christians.
The Chinese, at first, consider education and religion as synonymous,
and when questioned will say they are Christians, when all they do
is to attend school. They think that to be an American is to be a
Christian. They call themselves ( 'hristians when they go to school.
The church does not raise the question of how many converts are
going to be made, how many are to become Christians, or what are
to be the results. That does not affect us in the least ; but it is a sim-
ple duty that we feel Ave owe, to teach. them the Christian religion.
The members of the church do not at all represent the sum total of
the good influence exerted by our labors, nor would we consider
Christianity in this country a failure because the majority of the peo-
ple have not united with any church. I do not think the home
missionary work is being neglected because church people labor for
the heathen of other nations, for I have found the most zealous
workers in regard to foreign missions are also the most zealous work-
el.-- at home. It is only a missionary religion that can live — all others
decay. The religions of Brahma, Confucius, and Zoroaster _ are
stagnating and dying, because they are not missionary religions.
Buddhism and Christianity are missionary religions, and are the
strongest on earth.

Q. — What is your opinion as to the influence of the church in the
East and in ( alifornia?

A. — I think its influence in California is not so greatas in the East.
The early immigration to California was not religious, and the church
had to come in for the leavings.

<<>. — Suppose you were to put one million Chinamen on this coast,
and add to that number those already outsideof the pale, what effect
do you think it would have upon the present generation?

A. — As Abraham Lincoln said, "I will wait for the river before I
talk about the bridge.''"

<l — Would Ave be as able to receive it as the older States?

A. — No, sir; I believe that Chinese immigration, if left to itself, is
a detriment to this country, and the only loop-hole is in the fact that

163

it is a necessity — and whatever is, is right. The outcome is going to
be good for this country, and for the old country. There must, how-
ever, be a conflict of races, and the final result is going to be bene-
ficial. The effect of the presence of a certain class of Chinese here
is more deleterious than the effect of the presence of the same class
among our own people. Correspondingly bad classes among the
white races would be less injurious to the community than bad
classes among the Chinese. The moral effect is worse, but it is use-
less to try to exclude them, and it becomes our duty to elevate their
civilization.

Q. — What do you think of Senator Sargent's proposition, restrict-
ing immigration to ten on a ship?

A. — I think it is rather idealistic. It would be difficult to limit it
to ten ; but assuming it could be done, I should have no objection to
it.

Q. — Do you think that the church here has done as much as ean
be reasonably expected in this matter of the conversion of China-
men — has the work been faithfully and efficiently done?

A. — Yes, sir ; as far as I have seen the work, and I have seen it in
San Francisco, here, and in San Jose. I think it has been done faith-
fully and efficiently by those who are working. I will not say that
the church is doing all it could, but it is doing vastly more than the
government could expect, and the government should be obliged to
the church for carrying some of her burdens.

Q. — In your efforts to convert Chinese, do you meet with much
sympathy from the outside population?

A. — No, sir. The church meets with very little sympathy in Cali-
fornia.

Rev. J. H. C. Bonte sworn.

Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in California?

A. — About six years.

Q. — In what part of the State?

A. — In Sacramento City.

Q. — What has been your profession during that time ?

A. — I am Presbyter of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and
Rector of Grace Church, in this city.

Q. — Have you had occasion to examine the effect which Chinese
immigration is having upon the people of this State?

A. — Yes, sir. I have talked with the medical faculty in regard to
the subject, and I have considered the question from a religious
standpoint. The general moral effect has been very bad upon the
young of this country. My judgment is based upon facts I have
gained mostly from medical men in this city.

Q. — Men of standing in their profession?

A. — The ablest and best. The general effect, according to all the
testimony I have gathered of their presence, has been deplorably bad
in that direction. The conversion of the Chinese to Christianity is a
consummation hoped for and believed in by every Christian. I have
no doubt whatever of the power of the gospel to regenerate the whole
Chinese Empire. But Christian men differ as to the method by
which this result is to be accomplished — the precise manner of reach-
ing the Chinese. In the opinion of many good observers who have
made this subject a study, this great result is to be accomplished
through Chinese instrumentality, and in their own country; while

164

others believe that China is to be reached through the conversion of
the Chinese in America. The former believe that the character of a
nation is not to be changed by mere preaching, but by a steady pro-
cess of religious training and culture, under teachers of their own
race. The missionary work of the past proves the fact that a heathen
nation can be generally or permanently transformed only while in a
settled condition, and while living in their natural surroundings.
Christianity cannot be imposed upon China, but must be put into
the Chinese; and this work will be slow until they undertake it
themselves. The Chinese in ( alifornia are not in a favorable condi-
tion to hear the gospel. They are here simply for the purpose of
making money, and as they find the great body of our own people
engaged in the same enterprise their love of money-getting becomes
intensified by contact with our own people. They are, therefore, in
a state of intense enthusiasm for gain, and sacrifice, like many of our
own countrymen, everything for this one object. The Christian
church in California finds one of its greatest obstacles in this passion
among our own people, and if it operates disastrously in the work of
converting our own people, it must be even more so in the Chinese
work. Again, the Chinese now in this country are continually on
the move, and it is almost impossible to keep up a continuous
influence upon any one of them. We have control of them only for
a few weeks or months, when they go to localities where nothing is or
can be done for them. I cannot see, believing as I do in the neces-
sity of thorough Christian training, an opportunity of doing them
much good while in this country. Even those who may remain a
year or two in the same place live under conditions which neutralize
our efforts. The Christian teacher gains their attention only for a
few hours, while their old ways and ideas have their continuous
attention. They learn lessons, hear sermons, and learn Christian
songs, then return to their inaccessible dens, where they again come
under the sway of their old system. In my mind it is very doubtful
whether a well-trained Christian could maintain his Christian char-
acter under similar conditions. Again, the Chinese are very keen
observers, and let nothing pass unnoticed. We teach them Chris-
tianity, but they see our hoodlumism and crime, and wonder that our
people reject a religion which we seek to give them. They easily
discern the fact that the Christian people are in a small minority.
The missionaries in all lands have found their greatest obstacle in
their own irreligious countrymen, and here the same obstacle oper-
ates with increased force. Under these circumstances we have no
right to expect special results in the conversion of the Chinese who
live among us. Besides, the Christian church in California is engaged
in a severe struggle for its own existence. The nomadic habits of the
people, their eager desire to make large fortunes, their lack of relig-
ious training, weakens the church very materially. The mass of the
people of California came here at an early day, and they lived for
many years without church privileges, and do not feel the necessity
of churches as the people of older countries do. They do not stop
long enough in their struggles to think that their early Christian
training at home made them what they are, gave them their sense of
right and wrong, imparted to them their great energy and hopeful-
ness, and therefore they undervalue the church. For these and other
reasons the Christian church in California is very weak. The church
of the Pacific slope is not organized for the stupendous undertaking

165

of converting the Chinese. The clergy are fearfully overworked, and
besides, they have no special training for this peculiar work. The
laity do not live long enough in a place to gel into harness and learn
the art of working among the ( Jhinese. Besides, both men and women
in California work harder than the people of any other country ; are
more intensely occupied, and have less leisure. The Christian church
of the Pacific slope is therefore unprepared for this great emergency.
The church has done its best, but that is comparatively little, it
is foolish for Christian people in the East to expect much in the work
of converting the Chinese, from the church of this country. In my
judgment, the Chinese exercise as much influence among the people
of this coast in favor of paganism as the church among the Chinese
in favor of Christianity. The Christian church will continue its
work as long as the Chinese remain among us, but it will accomplish
comparatively little, unless the church of the East throws its whole
force into the work. The grand contest, which is to end with the
conversion of China, most be carried on in China. The work in Cal-
ifornia, I fear, only retards our final success in China. What they
see of Christianity* here, from their standpoint, must impress them
very unfavorably. As a Christian minister, I take no part in this
opposition to the Chinese. The Christian church believes, of neces-
sity, in the brotherhood of man, and works for the salvation of all
men indiscriminately, because they are men for whom Christ died.
But this is a doctrine which the State cannot, at present, administer
or establish. The State is organized for the protection and develop-
ment of local institutions, ideas, and interests, and cannot permit the
presence of systems that threaten its existence. The church is organ-
ized to establish the kingdom of Christ throughout the world, and
means to do it. The Chinese question is therefore mainly a question
for statesmen, and must be determined from their standpoint.

Q. — Do you think that the missionary work in California has been
well and faithfully done, and that it has borne as good fruits as
possible, under the circumstances'.-'

A.— Undoubtedly.

Q. — Do you know anything about the difference between the Japan-
ese and the Chinese?

A. — I have had more intimate associations with the Japanese than
with the Chinese, and there is certainly a very wide difference
between the two nations.

Q — Do the Chinese have any appreciation of a republican form of
government ?

A. — I have never found one that had the faintest conception of
what it was.

Q. — How are the Japanese?

A. — They seem to have an instinctive knowledge of our insti-
tutions. I have read essays by even young Japanese girls, and they
seem to have an instinctive insight into things as they are. As far as
I have seen the Japanese, they have come to the conclusion that the
secret of all our greatness is in the Christian religion. I talked with
one of the most distinguished Japanese gentlemen that ever came to
this country, and he told me that while they might carry over a
great many of our fine arts and tine things, still they could not
retain them unless they took our Christianity to sustain them. In
dress and appearance. Japanese coming here try to imitate Amer-
icans. They stop at hotels, etc., and live like Americans. I am

166

utterly amazed at the difference between the Japanese and the Chi-
nese. I am convinced that through Japan we are to work the
conversion of China.

Q. — What do you think of Senator Sargent's proposition to restrict
immigration to ten on a ship?

A.— It would be certainly a very desirable thing, if it can be done.
If further immigration were stopped, I think that the churches, by a
concerted action, could reach these Chinese here, and, perhaps, make
our efforts in China of more avail. The nomadic habits of those
here are a great drawback. There is scarcely a Chinaman here that
has not been in from ten to twenty places on the coast, and it is very
difficult to christianize such roamers.

STATISTICS

SHOWING THE AREA AND POPULATION OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE; OUR TRADE
WITH CHINA ; CHINESE POPULATION IN CALIFORNIA; ETC.

The following is taken from the San Francisco Journal of Commerce,
a paper of high repute. The figures have been verified by the com-
mittee:

The area of the Chinese Empire is much greater than that of the
United States, and about equal to that of the great Empire of Brazil.
Next to that of Russia it is the largest in the world, and contains
incomparably the greatest population — a population comprising at
least one-third of the whole human race.

The following are the latest estimates of area and population :

Area sq. niili-s. Population

China —

churia
Mongolia

Thi '

L ,534,953

ibet

Corea

Lienkhien

Liaob

! ,288,035
643,734
90,300
2,310 I
2,982 ,

Totals

924,627

105,213,152
: ,000,000
2,00( . I
6,000,000
8,000,0! it

1 ,000,000

425,213,152

The area, population, and chief cities are as follows

Province.

Chih-li . - Pekra

Shan-tung . Tse-nan .

Shan-se Tae-yuen-foo__

Honan _ Kae-fun

Keang-soo Nankin

Gan-hwuy Gan-kin

Kiang-si . Nan-chang-foo

Foo-k< . Fuh-choo-foo

Che-keang .___. ._ Hang-choo-foo

Hoo-pih

Hu-nan
-•-
Kan-suh
Sze-chuen

Kwang, or Canton

Kwang-si

Yun-nan__.

Kwei-ehoo ____

Woo-chang-foo
Chang-eha-foo.
Q-foo

Lan-cl'ii'o-i'.Hi

Kwair. chd

Kwe-lin-foo

Yun-iuui-foo

Kwei

Totals

72,176
53,480
39,150

381,724

L54,008

166,800
79,456
78,250

L07,869
64 ,554

1,524,953

28,11 1,023

28,958,764

27,260,228

23,037,171

37,843,501

34,168,059

30,426,999

38,888,432

26,2;

i 37,370,098

| 18,652,507

■ 10,207,256

i L5,193,135

21,43 78

L9,147,030

7,313,895

61,320

5,288,219

405,213,152

168

This immense population could send out one-quarter of one per
cent, as colonists to our shores, and then equal in numbers all the
white population of the Pacific Coast. Were they sufficiently civil-
ized, well armed, learned, and intelligent, they could spread their
rule over the world, and be as dreaded in the nineteenth and twen-
tieth centuries as were the hordes of Atilla, Gengis-Khan, and
Tamerlane (all from Chinese territory), from the fifth to the fifteenth.

The internal trade of China is immense, the foreign is compara-
tive small — the exports being only about one hundred and twenty-
five million dollars annually, while the imports, exclusive of coin
and bullion do not exceed twenty-five million dollars. The Chinese
money of account consists of taels, consisting each of ten mace, or
one hundred candareens, or one thousand cash. Three taels are
equivalent to one pound sterling or four dollars eighty-six cents and
sixty-live one-hundredths — one is therefore equal to one dollar sixty-
two cents and two hundred and sixteen one-thousandths, while a
cash is equal to one and thirty-one fiftieth mills nearly, six of them
being about equal to a cent. These cash, made of copper, are the
only coin current, gold, silver, and foreign coin being valued' accord-
ing to its weight and fineness. The principal weights are the tael or
leang, one and one-third ounces avoirdupois; the catty, one and
three-quarter pounds, and the picul, one hundred and thirty-three
and one-third pounds.

Our imports from China, as well as our exports thither, are. on the
whole, constantly increasing, though there was a heavy decline in
quantities and values of some articles in eighteen hundred and sev-
enty-live, as compared with the previous year, and though the quan-
tity and value of tea and sugar imported has declined during many
years.

The following tables give details for the past two years:

IMPORTS.

Articles.

1874.

Free.

Dutiable.

1875.

Free.

Dutiable.

Cigars -

Coffee - .- $151,585

Hemp, raw
Jute, etc.

Opium .

Rice 1

Silk,raw. 626,424

Silk manufactures 1

Silkworm eggs 8,386

Spices

Sugar • -

Tea 1,096,400

Tin. in bars, < t< 27,458

Miscellam ous I 15,679

$962

$162,823

244,989

1,570
236,632 -.

139,746 |

812,261 1,141,462

209,336

106,370

59,832
181,273

612,385

Totals
Grand total

$2,025,932

$2,689,650
2,025,932

$4,715,582

518,926
149,280

$1,040,365

183,656

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170

The imports of the principal articles compare as follows for the
two years :

Articles.

Pounds.

Value.

Tea, 1875

1,881,651
2,828,570

$518,926

Tea, 1874

L,096,480

Decline 1875 ._

940,919

5,528,529
L5,4 12,60

$577,554

Sugar, 1875 - - .. -

$183 656

Sugar, 1874 _._..-_

481,273

9,934,(171

46,883,850
31,645,536

$297,617

Rice, 1875

Rice, 1874

$1,141,462
812,261

Increase 1 875 _- —
*Coffee, 1875

14,738,314

751.192
775,069

$329,201
$162,823

sCoffei . 1st-!

L51,585

23,877

f$] 1 ,238

Silk, 1875 --

$315,706

Silk, 1874

626,424

$310,718

^Singapore and Manila. -(-Increase.

There has thus been a decrease in the quantity and value of almost
every article of prominence except rice and coffee, but the increase
in articles of food and clothing consumed by the Chinese, and of
which they import the greater part, has almost made up for this.

The exports of principal articles of domestic merchandise for the
past two years compare as follows :

Articles.

Amount.

Value.

Flour. 1875

Barrels

109,302
133,190

$571,271

Flour, 1874

692,942

23,888

459,880

:;7::,272

$121,671

. . _ Pounds

$577,109

Ginseng, 1874

414,937

86,608

$102,172

Fish, 1875

$458,027

Fish, 1874

165,896

$292,131

Quicksilver, 1875

_ . Kl.i !. \

8,712
400

$942,522
90,117

8,312

$852,405

A slight decrease is here shown in flour,but an increase in every-
thing else, and a remarkable one in quicksilver. This year the

171

increase promises to be still larger, as during the first quarter the
exports of flour to China have equaled fifty-six thousand eight hun-
dred and ninety-six barrels, valued at two hundred and thirty-six
thousand six hundred and fifteen dollars and six cents, and these of
quicksilver five thousand four hundred and thirty-four flasks, valued
at two hundred and fifty-seven thousand nine hundred and two
dollars and fifteen cents. If the exports of both these articles to
China continue in the same ratio for the remainder of the year, we
shall have sent to that country in eighteen hundred and seventy-six
as much as we sent in eighteen hundred and seventy-four and eighteen
hundred and seventy-five together.

The number of Chinese in the city and State has been variously
estimated at from thirty thousand in the former and one hundred
thousand in the latter, to ninety thousand in the former and two
hundred and ten thousand in the latter, respectively. To-day, for the
first time, the Journal of Commerce gives accurate details of the
arrivals and departures since eighteen hundred and fifty-two, ob-
tained from official sources :

Statement of Chinese passengers arrived and departed at the Port of
San Francisco, California.

Year.

1852

1853 ..
1854

1856

1857

1858

is;,! .__"_

INCH

1861 __

1862

1863

I 864

L865

L866

1867 —

1868

L869
1870 _^

1871

1872

is?::

1874

1875

Firs) quarter I srr,

Total _ _ -

.026
270
,084
329
807
924
127
,175
341
,430
,175
,432
,682
,095
.242
.200

.ONI

,990
,870

,540
.770
.0 75

.(IN.",

.021
,065

214,226

1,768
1.121
2,339
3,473
3,028
1,932
2.542
2.450
2.090
3,580
2.701'
2,942
3,910
2. 205
3,111
I. IT.",
1. 2 111
1,895
4,230
3,260
t,890
6,805
7.710
6,305
625

90,089
21 1.220

Excess of arrivals

124,137

i The Hon. T. B. Shannon, Collector of the Port, of San Francisco, gives the number of
arrivals and departures of Chinese al that port in the second quarter of eighteen hundred and
seventy-six, up to June sixteenth, as follows:

Arrivals.. - 7,096

Departures 1,120

The excess of arrivals during the sec,, ml quarter of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-
six, ad,!, -u to the Journal estimates, would fix the Chinese population atone hundred and sixteen
thousand.

172

The excess of arrivals over departures previous to eighteen hun-
dred and fifty cannot be determined, but as the whole population in
eighteen hundred and fifty numbered ninety-two thousand five hun-
dred and ninety-seven, it is fair to estimate the Chinese portion at ten
thousand. This would give the excess of arrivals over departures
since eighteen hundred and forty-eight at one hundred and thirty-
four thousand one hundred and thirty-seven, from which must be
deducted the deaths, the births being so few and far between as not
to form any element with calculation.

The deaths among the Chinese population is about two per cent,
per annum. At this rate the deaths since eighteen hundred and
forty-eight would reach twenty-four thousand nearly, which, taken
from the surplusage of arrivals over departures, leaves one hundred
and ten thousand as the Chinese population of the coast, of which
twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand are in this city.

That the benefits expected to flow from the cheap labor of this vast
multitude have not been derived can be easily seen. During their
residence in the State they have earned one hundred and eighty mill-
ion dollars, of which' only a very trifling percentage has been spent
here. Given instead of these one hundred and ten thousand Chinese
one hundred and ten thousand white workmen, with their families,
reaching three hundred thousand, and earning and spending sixty
million to seventy million dollars a year, and see what a change for
the better would occur. See the large number of merchants that
would do a profitable business, the army of jobbers and manufac-
turers and retailers that would be supported, the tens of thousands
of houses that would be wanted, and the general prosperity that
would flow from such an altered state of things.

ASSESSED VALUATION OF PROPERTY BELONGING TO

CHINESE.

The committee addressed circular letters to each County Assessor
in the State, and from returns received, the assessed value of all
property, real and personal, assessed to Chinese in this State, does not
exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars. The rate of State
tax is sixty-four cents on each one hundred dollars in value, and if
the whole tax was paid, the revenue derived by the State from the
property tax laid upon property held by Chinese would not exceed
nine thousand six hundred dollars.

The assessed value of all the property in the State is, in round
numbers, six hundred millions.

The total population of the Stale is about seven hundred and fifty
thousand, and the Chinese population is more than one-sixth of the
whole.

The Chinese population, amounting to at least one-sixth of the
whole population, pays less than one four-hundredth part of the rev-
enue required to support the State Government.

173

NATIVITY OF CONVICTS

In the California State Prison, June fourteenth, A. I), eighteen hundred

and seventy-six.

United States.

Alaska 1

Alabama 5

Arkansas 2

California L55

Connecticut 10

Delaware 2

Florida 12

Geor<j,i;i - 4

Illinois 6

Indiana 7

Iowa 1

Kentucky 12

Louisiana 12

Maine 6

Maryland .-- 11

Michigan 7

Massachusetts 16

Missouri - - 39

Mississippi 2

New Hampshire 2

New York . . 16:"!

New Jersey 7

North < larolina .2

Ohio.. 22

Oregon . 3

Pennsylvania .. - 4i>

Rhode Island 5

South < larolina 7

Tennessee 7

Texas .... 2

Vermont 4

V i rgi nia 1(1

Wesl Virginia 4

Wisconsin ..._____. 6

Total 600

Foreign.

Austria 1

Australia 3

"China 198

Canada 2:;

Chile 6

Central America 1

Denmark . 1

England _______ 49

France 15

Germany 54

Ireland' . __ 98

Italy 12

Mexico 39

Portugal 6

Peru 1

Russia 1

Sweden and Norway 10

Switzerland 1

Scotland . .__ .___. 11

Spain . 6

Wales 3

West Indies 5

Newfoundland I

Total. 54*5

Summary.

United States 600

Foreign 545

Total 1,145

CHARLES AULL, Turnkey.

* The Slate appropriates ten thousand dollars per month for the support of the State Prison,
the earnings of the prisoners falling that much short of maintaining the prison. It will be sei n
that the net cost to the State for each prisoner is about thirty cents per day: and this without
taking into consideration the cost of prison buildings.

The net cost to the State of keeping-one hundred and ninety-eight Chinese prisoners in the
State Prison is not less than twenty-one thousand six hundred dollars pier annum. a sum twelve
thousand dollars in excess of the whole amount of the property tax collected from the t'hinese
population of the State.

fin

JUN Z 7 1944